Nick G.
Darwin residents are having to get used to the sights of US
tanks in their streets.
On the third weekend in June, US tanks, all decked out with
weapons poised for action, put on a display that many locals felt quite
confronting.
No doubt the US imperialists see such displays as part of a
softening up process and a precursor to an expanded military presence in this
country.
ASPI offers our
sovereignty to US imperialism
Just such an expansion was urged at the beginning of June by
the government funded Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI).
Like other right-wing think tanks, the role of the ASPI is
to provide a platform from which advocates for imperialism can urge on the
further subordination of this country to the US.
It provides them with the means with which to fly kites to
soften up the public.
In its analysis of the 2014 “defence” budget, ASPI raises
the unlikely prospect of US “disengagement” from the Asia-Pacific and puts
forward a treacherous and bizarre proposal for turning the whole of our
continent into a US base against the peoples of the region.
“Leaders need followers,” argues the paper.
“But there’s also something that Australia can offer the
United States which goes to the heart of its economic and security interests -
access to 7.7 million square kilometres of terrain stretching from the Pacific
to Indian Ocean and from the Great Southern Ocean to the base of the Asian
archipelago.”
“As the Western pacific becomes more contested, the value of
access to Australian ports, airfields and training grounds will surely
grow. It’s arguably the most valuable
thing we can offer our ally…a solid strategic base straddling the sea lanes
passing from the Indian to Pacific Oceans.”
Top Army chief urges
subservience to US
In a speech to ASPI on 13 February 2014, Lieutenant General
David Morrison, Chief of the Australian Army, offered his own view of the role
of the Australian “Defence” Forces (ADF).
He said that the ADF has “always really existed to defend
Australia’s sovereignty, not its geography as defined by a continental
landmass”.
And he defined our “sovereignty” as that of a “trading
state”, as a state that is essentially maritime in nature, and one that must
therefore be able to engage in conflicts outside of its borders.
Australia, he pointed out, has been at war for more than one
third of the time since Federation in 1901, but not once has that involved
fighting within the continental boundaries of the country with the exception of
Japanese bombardments of northern cities and towns during World War 2.
For Morrison, aggressive actions beyond our borders in
support of an imperialist-led “global order” are a necessary part of the ADF’s
role. “The real issue is not whether we
need to be able to deploy military forces away from our shores. I take that as a given. The issue is whether they are prepared
adequately to do their jobs with an acceptable level of risk.”
For Morrison, being a client state of an imperialist master
is also a given.
He sees the future of the Australian ruling class as
“guaranteed by the dominant maritime power of the day,” and that “area sea
control is unachievable for us and it remains the monopoly of great naval
powers.”
He argues for inequality in relations between countries. “…formal inequality –where someone, or some
state or group, has more authority and power than others -…prevents chaos”.
Top US commander
defines our role
On April 9, 2014 Admiral Harry B. Harris Jr.(above), Commander of
the US Pacific Fleet, spoke at an ASPI gathering at the Australian War
Memorial.
He noted that it was his third visit to Australia since
assuming command last October.
Like Morrison, he stressed maritime power as “the minimum
necessary condition” for the accumulation of capital by the world’s biggest and
most exploitative corporations (or for “global prosperity and trade to
flourish” in his own chosen weasel words).
He painted a picture of an increasingly assertive and
aggressive China and saw the role of the US and its “allies” as “fostering a
rules-based system that respects international law and adheres to international
norms. This is a strategy that makes
great powers great.”
That is, US imperialism will define the rules and then force
compliance through its military.
He called for weapons development and procurement that “will
further increase interoperability between our two navies” and praised Australia
as a “truly great maritime power”.
He concluded by stating that the Pacific Fleet, with which
Australia is to be a subservient and interoperable member, “must be ready to
fight tonight. From Hollywood to
Bollywood, from polar bears to penguins, and everywhere in between…”
We must end our
subservience to US imperialism
The aggressive and predatory beast that is US imperialism
always seeks full spectrum domination at the expense of the peoples and nations
of the world.
We cannot allow our future to be determined by and tied to
the self-interest of a global superpower.
We must pull down the kites flown by ASPI.
We will determine our own future and our own foreign policy
in the fight for anti-imperialist independence and socialism.
We will strive to replace an army committed to subservience
to a foreign power with an army committed to the true interests of the working
people of this country and those of our friends in the working classes of all
nations.
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