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A powerful national security leader has warned the 'drums of war' are beating closer as tensions with escalate, as he declares Australia must do whatever it takes to protect 'our precious liberty'. 
Home Affairs Secretary Michael Pezzullo said in his Anzac Day message on Sunday while Australia should always search for peace, it must also be prepared to 'send off our warriors to fight the nation's wars'. 
He added free nations 'must remain armed, strong and ready for war, even as they lament the curse of war.' 
His comments came on the same day Peter Dutton said conflict between China and  'should not be discounted' as the communist nation had ramped up its military activity as it sought reunification. 
Beijing also warned last week it 'reserves the right to make further reactions' after the federal government tore up Victoria's Belt and Road initiative with China, adding the move was damaging to bilateral relations.  
'Today, as free nations again hear the beating drums and watch worryingly the militarisation of issues that we had, until recent years, thought unlikely to be catalysts for war, let us continue to search unceasingly for the chance for kinh nghiệm du lịch côn đảo peace while bracing again, yet again, for the curse of war,' Mr Pezzullo said.  
Pictured, a Chinese naval ship sails into Sydney Harbour in June 2019 during a secret reciprocal visit.

Australia is being warned the 'drums of war' are beating as tensions with China escalate
Home Affairs Secretary Michael Pezzullo (pictured) said free nations 'must remain armed, strong and ready for war' in an Anzac Day address on Sunday
'By our resolve and our strength, by our preparedness of arms, and by our statecraft, let us get about reducing the likelihood of war - but not at the cost of our precious liberty. 
'War might well be folly, but the greater folly is to wish away the curse by refusing to give it thought and attention, as if in so doing, war might leave us be, forgetting us perhaps.'
Mr Pezzullo said free nations continue to face the 'sorrowful challenge' of 'tyranny's threat to freedom' just as they did when Dwight D.

Eisenhower was US president in the 1950s and dealing with the Soviet's military power.  
'In a world of perpetual tension and Du lịch Côn Đảo dread, the drums of war beat - sometimes faintly and distantly, and at other times more loudly and ever closer,' he said. 
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'Free nations pity the burden of arms which drain the wealth and labour of all - a wasting of strength that thwarts true abundance and happiness for all peoples.' 
Mr Pezzullo noted 2021 marked the 70th anniversary of the military alliance between Australia and Du lịch Côn Đảo the United States.
He said Australia must remember the warnings of two American army generals - Mr Eisenhower and Douglas MacArthur - who Mr Pezzullo said 'had known war waged totally, and brutally'.
'We must search always for the chance for peace amidst the curse of war, until we are faced with the only prudent, if sorrowful, course - to send off, yet again, our warriors to fight the nation's wars,' Mr Pezzullo said. 
Australia's Defence minister Peter Dutton on Sunday said conflict between China and Taiwan 'should not be discounted' (pictured, Chinese soldiers in Tiananmen Square on March 9)
Pictured is an Australian Army soldier from the 2nd Combat Engineer Regiment in Queensland  amid warnings Australia could 'be at war with China' within years
Chinese Navy personnel are seen onboard a Chinese Navel ship after it arrives at Garden Island Naval Base in Sydney
Mr Dutton said on Sunday China had been clear about reunification with Taiwan and described it was one of their long-held objectives.
'If you look at any of the rhetoric that is coming out of China, from spokesmen particularly in recent weeks and months in response to different suggestions that have been made, they have been very clear about that goal,' he told the ABC. 
'Obviously there is a significant amount of (military) activity, and there is an animosity between Taiwan and China.
'For us, we want to make sure we continue to be a good neighbour in the region, that we work with our partners and with our allies, as nobody wants to see conflict between China and Taiwan or anywhere else.'
Taiwan, backed by the US and Japan, has endured a longstanding conflict with Beijing since the Chinese civil war in 1949 and now its residents are more on edge than ever after watching the erosion of independence in Hong Kong.
The People's Liberation Army have repeatedly invaded Taiwan's airspace and maritime borders as 'Wolf Warrior diplomats' ramp up their rhetoric about annexing the territory.
Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen poses for a group photo in front of the Taiwan navy's new boat - amid growing pressure from China in the South China Sea and political tension worldwide
Australia's Defence minister Peter Dutton said there has been a significant amount of military activity as animosity between China and Taiwan grows (pictured, Chinese troops take part in marching drills ahead of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China in 2019) 
Tensions have soared in the disputed South China Sea where Beijing has claimed control of maritime areas legally belonging to Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam and Brunei.
China also engaged in a border scuffle with India last year where dozens of soldiers were killed on both sides. 
Internally President Xi Jinping has also moved to stamp out freedoms in Hong Kong, Tibet and Xinjiang Province with brutal campaigns against religious minorities and pro-democracy advocates.
Former Defence minister Christopher Pyne earlier this month warned Australia could be thrown into a military conflict with China in a matter of years.
Mr Pyne said war may be inevitable with the authoritarian state as it becomes more aggressive and belligerent with its neighbours. 
'Five years ago, I would have said that the possibility was very unlikely - now I would have to say that the possibility is more likely than it was then,' he said in a speech at the University of Adelaide. 
Australian Army soldiers from the 4th Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery gather for an inspection in August 2020.

Former Defence minister Christopher Pyne this month warned of a war between Australia and China
'Not a cyber war, but a real one involving loss of life, destruction of military platforms, with aggressors and defenders on different sides,' he said. 
'This isn't rhetoric.

This is something that you and I may well have to confront in the next five to 10 years.'
Australia's relationship with China, its biggest trading partner, began to drastically deteriorate in April last year when Prime Minister called for an independent inquiry into the origins of , which first appeared in Wuhan at the end of 2019. 
The plea for transparency over Covid-19 infuriated the Communist Party who retaliated by imposing arbitrary bans and tariffs on billions of dollars worth of Australian goods including barley, wine, cotton, seafood, beef, copper, and coal.
Foreign Minister Marise Payne announced last week Victoria's Belt and Road Initiative agreement with Beijing had been cancelled under new foreign veto powers.
China's embassy in Australia responded swiftly, expressing 'strong displeasure and resolute opposition' to Senator Payne's announcement.