Thursday 12 April 2012

Australia's military ties with the US

Australia seems to be stuck between its economic interests, which lie with China and Asia, and traditional ties with the America.

General Peter Leahy warns of US-China collision
FORMER Australian army chief Peter Leahy has urged Australia to tread warily in expanding its military ties with the US to ensure they do not "lead to increased tension and even conflict" with China.


12 April, 2012

Warning against becoming "caught" between the US as its security guarantor and China as its economic underwriter, Professor Leahy has welcomed Australia's decision to play host to US marines, but noted that "too much of a good thing" could put unnecessary pressure on China.

His comments, in an opinion piece in today's edition of The Australian, came as the China Daily state-owned newspaper hit out at Australia's expanding links with the US, warning they could spark a collapse of trust and endanger Sino-Australian economic ties.

In a strongly worded editorial, the newspaper yesterday also warned that the Gillard government's decision last month to ban Chinese communications giant Huawei from bidding for work in the $36 billion National Broadband Network had created the perception in Beijing that Australia wanted to obstruct Chinese companies.

But, as US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton insisted her nation wanted close and peaceful relations with Beijing, Julia Gillard rejected the Chinese newspaper's suggestion that Australian foreign policy was aimed at containing China.

"Australia's clear and firm policy is to engage constructively with China as it continues its remarkable growth and development," the Prime Minister said through a spokesman.

Relations between China and Australia have been under pressure since US President Barack Obama visited Canberra in November to announce plans to station up to 2500 US marines in Darwin within five years. The deployment, which started last week, was part of a US push to shift its defence posture towards Asia in recognition of the growing influence of China and India.

Chinese suspicions were further provoked last month when The Washington Post reported that the US was interested in using the Australia-controlled Cocos Islands as a base for surveillance drones.

Professor Leahy, who led the army between 2002 and 2008 and is now director of the University of Canberra's National Security Institute, argues against Australia becoming too closely tied to the US. "As a sovereign nation Australia should maintain the ability to say 'no' to the US and separate itself from their actions," he writes, predicting the US marines agreement will lead to US pressure for even closer military ties with Australia, including greater access for American air and naval forces.

"These are momentous decisions with far-reaching consequences. They potentially implicate Australia in a series of actions that could lead to increased tension and even conflict with China.

"War is improbable but not impossible. Australia needs to be careful that it does not make inevitable the future that it should fear the most."

Yesterday's China Daily article accused Australia of jumping on "the bandwagon" of a US push to "contain" China, putting at risk the close economic ties developed since diplomatic relations were normalised four decades ago.

"As an old Chinese saying said . . . the person attempting to travel two roads at once will get nowhere," the article said. "Canberra is in danger of learning the truth of the Chinese saying that he who does not trust enough will not be trusted.

"If Canberra continues to place more importance on its alliance with Washington, the trend of giving China the cold shoulder will eventually hurt the good momentum that the two countries have worked hard to build."

China is Australia's largest trading partner, with the emerging giant's hunger for coal and iron ore the key driver of Australia's ongoing resources boom.

Ms Gillard visited Beijing last year and her government is preparing a discussion paper on the economic opportunities for Australia in targeting the consumer needs of the growing Chinese middle class.

Last night, Ms Gillard said through a spokesman that Australia was committed to a positive and co-operative relationship and was deeply engaged at every level.

"Our economic relationship is important to both countries and will only continue to strengthen and grow," the spokesman said. "Our political ties through steady high-level exchanges are robust."

Mrs Clinton, speaking in the US early yesterday, said a thriving China was good for America. "And a thriving America is good for China, as long as we both thrive in a way that contributes to the regional and global good. We will only succeed in building a peaceful, prosperous Asia-Pacific if we succeed in building an effective US-China relationship."

Opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman Julie Bishop said the China Daily attack showed Labor had created unnecessary tensions with China by failing to manage inevitable disagreements with sensitivity and respect. "For example, confusion about the Labor government's attitudes towards China was increased significantly by the 2009 defence white paper that implied China posed a direct conventional military threat to Australia," she said.

If elected, a Coalition government would "restore the consistency and mutual respect" to the relationship that was the hallmark of the previous Coalition government, she said.

Greens leader Bob Brown said his party supported a more independent policy stance.

"It is inevitable that hosting US bases, including the potential for US nuclear-powered submarines and drones, will not just annoy China, it will worry all our neighbours including Indonesia and India," Senator Brown said.

"The Greens have always pursued human rights abuses with both China and the USA and think Australia should be open and frank on such issues."

Former defence force chief Chris Barrie said that, while he agreed in "broad terms" with Professor Leahy's comments, it would be hard for the government to turn down a request from the US.

The former army chief and commander of UN forces in Cambodia, Lieutenant General John Sanderson, said that Australia's future lay in building a proper strategic relationship with its Asian neighbours.

"This is where we live," he said. "And if there is anything about this relationship with the Americans that impairs our ability to build on that relationship then we should have a much deeper strategic debate."


And from New Zealand...


We don’t Colonise anymore. Now we have Free markets!

Comments from Travellerev of Aotearoa: a Wider Perspective

John Key our bankster Prime Minister and his National government do not want to tell us what is in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). I suggest to you that while it would be better to know what we are being sold for so we can refuse out right, the secrecy our public servants owners use to push through unfavourable neo-colonial policies will be our legal ground upon which we can declare the trade agreement null and void in the future.

Will this be easy? Well the fact that for the second time in a short period American soldiers/marines are training Kiwi soldiers might indicate that our owners may not be convinced of our compliance with their pending dictates.





US troops training NZ soldiers at Linton
American troops are back in New Zealand training our soldiers for the first time since the ANZUS alliance collapsed in the mid-80s, reports say.


22 March, 2012

TV One says a US-led training course in non-lethal weapons is under way right now at Linton Army Base near Palmerston North.

It precedes a course in Wellington next week when 75 participants from 19 countries will take part.

The report said the US Embassy would not allow it to film the training course at Linton and wants the focus on the thawing military relationship to be on a contingent of US marines due here in June to mark the 70th anniversary of American troops coming to New Zealand during World War II.

Defence Minister Jonathan Coleman said there had been "a definite shift" in the relationship.

He said the international training course next week was "business as usual
because it was held in a different country each year. New Zealand had been part of it for a decade, and this year it is New Zealand's turn to host it.

The US banned joint military training in the mid-80s over New Zealand's nuclear-free stance which meant US warships couldn't dock here.

The joint training ban was lifted in 2009 and US troops again trained New Zealand forces overseas.

The course at Linton is thought to be the first on New Zealand soil for more than 30 years.

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