A failure by Australia and the West to deter Russian aggression along Ukraine's border will only embolden autocratic regimes like China, a Ukraine expert says.
Professor in Ukrainian Studies Marko Pavlyshyn says undeterred Russian aggression will have direct security implications in the Indo-Pacific, like China moving on Taiwan.
"Russia will prove that a determined autocracy which scoffs at international norms is able to get its way with impunity," the Monash emeritus professor said.
"Unless the West blocks Russia's achievement of these goals, it will lose credibility and trust as a reliable supporter of democratic countries."
Prof Pavlyshyn says it remains in Australia's core security interest to work with like-minded countries to deter Russian President Vladimir Putin and ensure the crisis doesn't escalate and strip Ukraine's sovereignty.
Australia's national security committee of cabinet met on Monday night to discuss the "very real risks" of conflict with Russia along Ukraine's border amid fears of an imminent invasion.
But Prime Minister Scott Morrison remained politic when asked about the situation in Ukraine, saying while conflict was "potentially imminent", he didn't want to say anything "that would suggest this is a known fact".
"We are very well aware of the assessments, and the risks of that occurring at any moment is there and it's real," he told 2SM on Tuesday following the lengthy security meeting.
Mr Morrison also took aim at China for not denouncing Russian aggression, saying it made the threat "all very real".
"When you have a large country in our own region that suggest they want peace and harmony but is not calling out Russia... that is very concerning," he said.
"(Russia) are threatening terrible violence on Ukraine that will have a real impact on the global economy and on oil prices and we will all feel that."
China's foreign ministry hit back when asked about the prime minister's comments on the country remaining "chillingly silent on the amassing of troops", saying Australia needed to "abandon the Cold War mentality and ideological bias".
"Stop making belligerent rhetoric that will escalate the tensions," ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said.
"Such acts of seeking selfish political gains by clamouring for confrontation are unethical and dangerous."
