I think that if the US (and by extension, Australia) is drawn into a war with China, I'm not sure that it will end well. The US carrier fleets appear vulnerable in that so much resources goes into defending their carrier platform for very little offensive capacity. Carrier fleets regenerate slowly... drone or similar munitions can regenerate very quickly. The US needs to project far beyond their borders, whilst China only needs to achieve regional supremacy.

All of these things make a hot war with China pretty uncomfortable for Australia. A cold war would be even less fun...