They provoke, accuse, and then play the victim. It's a familiar tactic employed by Australia in the South China Sea.

On October 19, the PLA warned off an Australian P-8A warplane using defensive flares over the Xisha Islands. Yet, the Australian Defence Minister calls it a "routine patrol", repeatedly emphasizing "freedom of navigation". But is that really the case?

And here's the irony — China is one of Australia's largest trading partners. So why is Canberra "protecting freedom of navigation" by provoking the very routes that carry its own trade? As a close US ally, Canberra often uses these staged confrontations to demonstrate its allegiance.