US more more powerfull and larger than NK, have put lot of sanction on NK. The power gap between US and NK is bigger than between China ans Australia. But NK still have those nuclear weapon.
You are basing a policy on the hope that just because of CHina power Australia will bend.
And look at the state of North Korea.
It is resolutely independent, but it is also one of the poorest countries in the world.
Also, you need to read the latest White Paper planning documents published by the Australian Government.
They expect the Chinese economy to grow to 2x the size of the US economy in 2030-2035.
But at that point, China can still be posting higher catchup growth rates.
So we can reasonably expect the economic disparity and Australia's economic dependence to increase further.
If Australia is part of an anti-Chinese alliance led by the USA.
Given the descent of China-US relations into a new cold war, suppose China decides to build a Navy that is 2x larger than the US Navy.
What is Australia supposed to do if both its economic prosperity and military security is dependent on China?
Will Australia continue to follow the USA, or will it have to bend to reality?