Australia Tells United State to Prepare to Use Force Against China

A U.S. diplomatic cable released by WikiLeaks reveals that then-Australian leader Kevin Rudd told the United States it should be prepared to use force against China.

The confidential U.S. State Department cable was written after a White House lunch between Mr. Rudd and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in March of last year.

Mr. Rudd described himself as "a brutal realist on China" and argued for the need to integrate China into the international community, while preparing to deploy force "if everything goes wrong."

In their wide-ranging discussion, Mr. Rudd also revealed that the thinking behind his ambitious "Asia-Pacific Community" was mostly to ensure Chinese dominance in the region did not result in "an Asia without the United States."

Mr. Rudd, now Australia's foreign minister, has not commented on the cable and there has been no immediate response from Beijing.