Skip to main content

US and Australian policies have had 'destabilizing impact' on Asian nations

By Max Lane* 

September 15 marked the third anniversary of the announcement of the AUKUS (Australia, the UK, the U.S.) agreement. The purpose of this agreement is for Australia to buy nuclear-powered submarines from the UK and the U.S. This increases interoperability with U.S. forces that are projecting their power in the region along the Chinese coast. Furthermore, Australia is participating in the QUAD and SQUAD, “[i]nformal Alliances in the Indo-Pacific.” The city of Darwin in northern Australia has been opened up for the U.S. forces, including planes carrying nuclear weapons. In addition, Australia has long housed bases for U.S. spy satellite systems. (For details of all these agreements, visit antiaukuscoalition.)
All this is consistent with history. The Australian capitalist class shares the understanding of the Global North versus Global South relationship and realizes that the ruling class’s best interest is in the Global North’s continued domination. The increased capacity of China to resist the U.S. hegemony, even if it is unable to defeat it, is seen as a threat. The hegemonic discourse in the media always refers to China as an adversary. In Australia, this is accentuated when talking about Australian imperialism’s “own backyard.”

Member of the global imperialist club

For at least 150 years, Australia has been integrated into the network of rich industrialized countries much of whose wealth comes from colonial and modern imperialist exploitation of what is now called the Global South. Although a small imperialist economy, some of its biggest capitalists have investments in Global South countries, as far apart as Indonesia and Chile.
Australia has one of the highest GDP per capita in the world. Its wealth stems from this exploitation and from sharing in the exploitation of the Global South by the imperialist bloc. Its initial wealth, accumulated in the 18th and 19th centuries, was based on and boosted by a genocidal invasion. The latter enabled the theft of the continent’s land from its original inhabitants.
In foreign and security policies, the Australian state and the majority of the capitalist class have always believed that they shared the same strategic interests of the imperialist bloc. Since World War II, they have also shared the strategic interests of the United States.
In relation to Asia, the Australian state has shared the understanding with the United States that a socialist revolution in Asia is a threat to all imperialist interests. Since 1945, the Australian ruling class has waged a massive propaganda campaign among the Australian people on the “yellow peril” of communist China and the left-wing movements in southeast Asia. In addition, Australian troops were involved in South Korea, Malaya, and Indonesia before Vietnam. Even before the United States committed to the war in Vietnam, the Australian government was urging the United States to get involved.

Contradictions for Australia’s capitalist class

There is a contradiction for the Australian capital as a whole. “Over the past five years, the exports of Australia to China have increased at an annualized rate of 7.76 percent, from $84.8 billion in 2017 to $123 billion in 2022,” according to the Observatory of Economic Complexity. China usually tops the list of countries that Australia exports to. The current Australian government is doing all it can to improve business ties with China, including recently feting the Chinese Premier and other delegations. Commercial relations have also improved. 
In foreign and security policies, Australia has always believed that they shared the same strategic interests of the imperialist bloc
At the same time, in the political sphere, anti-Chinese propaganda continues strongly. Open public dissent against AUKUS or similar policies from within the capitalist class or pro-capitalist politicians is minimal. The one outspoken critic is former Labor Prime Minister Paul Keating who argues: that China is no security threat to Australia; that Taiwan belongs to China; and that the Australian economy needs the best possible economic relations with China.

Opposition to AUKUS

The opposition is weak and comes from the left and some center-left Greens parliamentarians. There are two main elements to the Australian left. The Greens party is a moderate left-of-center party with a small representation in the Senate and House of Representatives. They oppose AUKUS, emphasizing the waste of money, erosion of defense sovereignty to the United States, and the environmental impacts of storing nuclear waste. While it publishes progressive statements on China not being a threat, it does not seem to stress the same. The Greens do not initiate or lead mass campaigns or protests.
The peace movement and the far left include the Independent and Peaceful Australia Network and the Australian Anti-AUKUS Coalition. While active, these organizations are small and weak, with minimal public profile or impact. This reflects the 20-year decline of radical left organizations in Australia, especially those whose political perspective makes the Global North versus Global South struggle (imperialism) a major or basic framework.
These groups’ statements are therefore often slightly more radically worded versions of the Greens’. Nobody campaigns around the slogan: “China is not an enemy” nor links U.S. containment of China to imperialism.

Solutions

There is no magic solution to this weakness. The only way to undo the damage is by patiently explaining and helping build actions and a movement against imperialism.
One factor that may help this process is increasing the voices of the peoples’ movements of Asia on these questions among the Australian public, and especially among Australian youth who are beginning to raise questions on this issue. More visits to Australia by Asian friends would educate people with an imperialist perspective on the destabilizing impact of U.S. and Australian policies. This is urgent and very useful, and we must figure out how to overcome the infrastructural and financial challenges involved in achieving this goal.
---
*Writer and commentator on Asian and southeast Asian affairs and Australia’s relations with Asia; has lectured at universities in Australia, Indonesia, Singapore, and the Philippines, as well as in the United States and Europe. Over the last 50 years, he has written for the Canberra Times, Nation Review, National Times, and Green Left Weekly. He has written, edited, and translated more than 20 books on Indonesia. This article is based on the August 17, 2024 United States Destabilizing East Asia online webinar by No Cold War. Source: Globetrotter

Comments

TRENDING

Defeat of martial law: Has the decisive moment for change come in South Korea?

By Steven Lee  Late at night on December 3, soldiers stormed into South Korea’s National Assembly in armored vehicles and combat helicopters. Assembly staff desperately blocked their assault with fire extinguishers and barricades. South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol had just declared martial law to “ eliminate ‘anti-state’ forces .”

EVMs: Govt must prove beyond reasonable doubt it's upholding mandate for free, fair polls

By Jerald D’souza  With the growth of India’s population, concerns about electoral fraud associated with ballot papers, also began to escalate. In 1989, the People’s Representation Act was amended to enable EVMs to prevent electoral fraud. In 1998, EVMs made their debut during legislative assembly elections and for the first time for general elections in 2004. However, criticisms against the EVMs and questions about their integrity have been raised by political parties, civil society and the general population. On 2 February 2024, there was a noteworthy demonstration of dissent where numerous individuals, including Ambedkarite advocates, legal professionals, and other members of civil society  convened at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar demanding the prohibition of EVMs. In 2024, the Supreme court had slapped down a petition to return to paper ballots on the basis that machines give “absolutely accurate results” unless human bias maligns them. The court stated that it was open to testi...

70,000 migrants, sold on Canadian dream, face uncertain future: Canada reinvents the xenophobic wheel

By Saurav Sarkar*  Bikram Singh is running out of time on his post-study work visa in Canada. Singh is one of about 70,000 migrants who were sold on the Canadian dream of eventually making the country their home but now face an uncertain future with their work permits set to expire by December 2024. They came from places like India, China, and the Philippines, and sold their land and belongings in their home countries, took out loans, or made other enormous commitments to get themselves to Canada.

This Indian British Marxist blamed USSR's collapse in 1991 on Khrushchev's 'revisionism'

By Harsh Thakor*  Harpal Singh Brar, British Indian Marxist scholar and communist leader, has passed away in Chandigarh. He was 85. He was a lifelong supporter of socialism, Marxism, and the working class. He will be remembered among British Communists.

Chalapathi's death in encounter suggests Maoists' inability to establish broader mass support

By Harsh Thakor* The Maoist movement experienced a significant loss during the Ramagudem encounter on January 21, with the death of Chalapathi (Pratap), a Central Committee member of the CPI (Maoist). His death, along with 15 others, marks a major setback for the movement. Reports suggest that his location was revealed to security forces through a selfie with his wife.

Operation Kagar represents Indian state's intensified attempt to extinguish Maoism: Resistance continues

By Harsh Thakor Operation Kagar represents the Indian state's intensified attempt to extinguish Maoism, which claims to embody the struggles and aspirations of Adivasis. Criminalized by the state, the Maoists have been portrayed as a threat, with Operation Kagar deploying strategies that jeopardize their activities. This operation weaves together economic, cultural, and political motives, allegedly with drone attacks on Adivasi homes.

Chhattisgarh's CFR management plan implementation under PM-DA JGUA: A promising start

By Dr. Manohar Chauhan*  Chhattisgarh is poised to benefit significantly from the Pradhan Mantri Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Uttkarsh Abhiyan (PM-DA JGUA) Mission, launched by the Prime Minister on October 2, 2024.  This mission aims to support 400 gram sabhas in the state in developing and implementing Community Forest Resource (CFR) Management Plans.

A groundbreaking non-violent approach: Maharishi’s invincible defense technology

By MajGen (R) Kulwant Singh, Col (R) SP Bakshi, Col (R) Jitendra Jung Karki, LtCol (R) Gunter Chassé & Dr David Leffler*  In today’s turbulent world, achieving lasting peace and ensuring national security are more urgent than ever. Traditional defense methods focus on advanced weapons, military strategies, and tactics, but a groundbreaking approach offers a new non-violent and holistic solution: Maharishi’s Invincible Defense Technology (IDT). 

Why do we mostly resist and refrain from communicating on sanitation topic?

By Nikhil Kumar, Mansee Bal Bhargava* According to UN SDG Progress report (2022), at the present moment no targets for SDG 6 are expected to be met by 2030. In 2022, 2.2 billion people had no access to safe drinking water and 3.5 million lacked safe sanitation. Approximately 50% of the world’s population was reported to have been under resourced in enough water for part of the year and a quarter of that population was living under “extremely high” water stress. Add to it, droughts have affected over 1.4 billion people between 2002 and 2021.

CCG raises concerns over Indian State of Forest Report 2023 in open letter to environment minister

By A Representative  The Constitutional Conduct Group (CCG), a collective of former civil servants, has expressed serious concerns over the Indian State of Forest Report (ISFR) 2023 in an open letter to the Union Minister for Environment, Forests & Climate Change. The group has criticized the report's delayed release, flawed methodology, and misleading claims regarding the state of India's forests.