By Max Lane
On September 15, three years passed since the announcement of the agreement VICTIM (Australia, United Kingdom and the USAfor its acronym in English). The goal of this deal is for Australia to purchase nuclear-powered submarines from the UK and the US. This increases interoperability with US forces that are projecting power in the region along the Chinese coast. In addition, Australia participates in the QUAD and the SQUAD“Informal alliances in the Indo-Pacific”. The city of Darwinin northern Australia, has opened to US forces, including planes carrying nuclear weapons. Additionally, Australia has long hosted bases for US spy satellite systems (For details on all of these agreements, visit antiaucus coalition).
All this is consistent with the story. The Australian capitalist class shares an understanding of the relationship Global North versus On Global and realizes that it is best for the ruling class for the Global North to continue to dominate. The increase in the capacity of China to resist American hegemony, even if it cannot defeat it, it is considered a threat. The hegemonic discourse in the media always refers to China as a 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 the colonial and modern imperialist exploitation of what is now called the Global South. Although it is a small imperialist economy, some of its largest capitalists have investments in countries of the Global South, as distant from each other as Indonesia y Chile.
Australia has one of the highest GDP per capita in the world. Their wealth comes from participating in the exploitation of the Global South by the imperialist bloc. Their initial wealth, accumulated in the 18th and 19th centuries, was based on and fueled by a genocidal invasion. This allowed the theft of the lands of the continent from its original inhabitants.
In foreign and security policy, the Australian State and the majority of the capitalist class have always believed they share 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 with the United States the understanding that a socialist revolution in Asia It is a threat to all imperialist interests. Since 1945, the Australian ruling class has carried out a massive propaganda campaign among the Australian people about the “yellow peril” of communist China and leftist movements in Southeast Asia. Additionally, Australian troops participated in South Korea, Malaysia and Indonesia before Vietnam. Even before the United States became involved in the Vietnam War, the Australian Government was urging it to get involved.
Contradictions for the Australian capitalist class
There is a contradiction for Australian capital as a whole. “Over the last five years, Australian exports to China have increased at an annualized rate of 7.76%, rising from $84.8 billion in 2017 to $123 billion in 2022,” according to he Observatory of Economic Complexity. China usually tops the list of countries Australia exports to. The current Australian Government is doing everything it can to improve trade ties with China, including recently entertaining the Chinese Prime Minister and other delegations. Trade relations have also improved. 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 only outspoken critic is the former Labor prime minister Paul Keatingal argue that: China is not a threat to Australia’s security; 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 parliamentarians Verdes center-left. There are two main elements in the Australian left. The Greens are a moderate center-left party with a small representation in the Senate and in the House of Representatives. They oppose AUKUS by emphasizing the waste of money, the erosion of defense sovereignty vis-à-vis the United States, and the environmental impacts of storing nuclear waste. Although he puts out progressive statements that China is not a threat, he does not seem to emphasize the same. The Greens do not start or lead mass campaigns or protests.
The pacifist and extreme left movement includes the Australian Independent and Peaceful Network and the Australian Anti-AUKUS Coalition. Although 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 primary or basic framework.
For this reason, the statements of these groups tend to be slightly more radical versions than those of the Greens. No one campaigns on the slogan “China is not an enemy” or links US containment of China to imperialism.
Solutions
There is no magic solution for this weakness. The only way to undo the damage is to patiently explain and help build actions and a movement against imperialism.
One factor that can help this process is to increase the voices of Asian people’s movements on these issues among the Australian public, and especially among Australian youth, who are beginning to ask questions about the issue. More visits to Australia by Asian friends would educate those who hold an imperialist perspective about the destabilizing impact of US 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.
By Max Lane
Writer and commentator on Asian affairs and specialist in Australia-Asia relations. He has given lectures at universities in Australia, Indonesia, Singapore y Filipinasas well as in the United States and Europa. For the past 50 years, he has written for newspapers Canberra Times, Nation Review, National Times y Green Left Weekly. He has written, edited and translated more than 20 books about Indonesia. This article is based on the webinar on August 17, 2024 “United States Destabilizing East Asia” of No Cold War.
Fuente: Globetrotters
The expressions expressed in this column are the exclusive responsibility of their author and do not necessarily represent the opinions of The Citizen.
