1) All that would need to occur for a country like China to bring Australia to it's knees is for their navy to sit their subs & destroyers in our trade lanes. How long to you think this country can function without oil, fuel/diesel & medical imports?
2) Australia, by itself, has no ability to defend against point 1 above.
3) Referring to points 1 & 2, this is why being closely allied with a power such as the US is an absolute requirement.
Allying with the US in the way we are intending will ensure our security going forward. The US & China will never fight a hot war, because everyone loses in that circumstance. It ends in nuclear exchange.
Hosting US nuclear submarines in WA, B52's & marines in Darwin effectively makes us untouchable due to the concepts of deterrence & MAD. Allowing ourselves to drift away from an ally like the US opens us up to all sorts of economic & physical coercion as we do not have the capability to defend ourselves, unless you support us developing our own nuclear deterrent & second strike capability.
