Former Australian PM talks to Chinese PM about Ancient Greek Wars
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The trap for China and America
Thucydides was a general in ancient Athens who wrote a history of the Peloponnesian War in the fifth century BC.
At the beginning of his history, he writes a long list of causes of the war — changing alliances, affairs, insults — but then he points to an overarching cause.
"The real cause I consider to be the one which was formally most kept out of sight," Thucydides wrote.
"The growth of the power of Athens, and the alarm which this inspired in Sparta, made war inevitable."
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Mr Turnbull says Mr Xi's interest in the Peloponnesian War goes deeper.
"He was, interestingly, familiar with another part of Thucydides' history, which I think in many respects, is more relevant.
"That is what's called the Melian dialogue."
This relates to a scene halfway through the Peloponnesian War, where Athens invaded the island of Melos, which had until that point been neutral in the war.
"The Athenians say, 'You've got to join us,'" Mr Turnbull explained.
"The Melians say, 'Oh, give us a break, we're independent, we're neutral. You know, we love you all. We don't want to pick sides,'" he paraphrased.
After some discussions, the Athenians issue an ultimatum.
"The Athenians say, 'Cut the crap, justice, you should know, is found only between equals in power. As to the rest, the strong do as they will and the weak suffer as they must,'" Mr Turnbull said.
Essentially, whoever is more powerful gets their way. But Mr Turnbull says this isn't how the modern world should be run.
"What we're trying to achieve with the rule of law in the world and in our region is to ensure that nobody is able to say, 'The strong do as they will and the weak suffer as they must.'"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thucydides_Traphttps://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-07-06/ ... /100267570Current Australian PM just visited to coincide with the 50 year Anniversary of when Australia was the first Western country to recognise China
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