Australian compradors mount campaign for US's contest with China

Max O.

Much has been reported recently in the Australian media about China's 'aggressive role' both inside Australia and the Indo-Pacific region. A carefully constructed campaign has been mounted by the ruling class in Australia at the behest of US imperialism, to check whatever influence China might wield inside the country.

This coordinated campaign has seen: the Department of Foreign Affairs and Tourism (DFAT) release a new hard-line foreign policy White Paper; Australian Intelligence Security Organisation (ASIO) caution against China's influence over political parties and politicians; the Prime Minister Turnbull create a furore with his banning announcement of foreign political donations, compelling lobbyists to declare their foreign links and legislation of new treason and espionage laws.

The United States 'Pivot to Asia' military strategy, which Australia is a partner to, has now progressed to a further stage with the creation of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, comprising Australia, Japan, the US and India. See Vanguard article, "Indian Ocean: Secret Bases (Part One)" for Australia's contribution of the Cocos Islands as a military ‘lily pad’.

The White Paper keeps Australia in the American camp

These military measures are reflected in the foreign policy White Paper which in contrast to past papers used stark and candid language to point out that our “great and powerful ally”, the US, is disappointingly on the wane. In keeping with Australia's dependent, client status the White paper describes the international order as being reshaped and a challenge to American, and hence Australia's interests.

In frank terms it points out, "The United States has been the dominant power in our region throughout Australia's post-World War II history. Today, China is challenging America's position."  The White Paper indicates that China's economy has virtually overshadowed America's (in the next 10 years China's economy will be double the US's), nevertheless Australia's compradors don't see the weakening of the US as a fait accompli, moreover they're sticking with the established conqueror.

The worry for Australia, argues the White Paper, is the Trump administration retreating from the region militarily and withdrawing into economic protectionism. If this happens it fears China will become the dominant replacement power, something our compradors don't want.

Reflecting the dominance that America has over Australia the paper virtually begs the US to maintain the alliance with us. It envisages that the US will continue its military superiority in the years ahead and our dependence on them will provide Australia with the requisite security blanket.

ASIO securing Australia for US imperialism

Alongside this official policy stance comes the nicely timed political and intelligence machinations of the comprador ruling class. It is no accident that ASIO surveillance intelligence of “unreliable political and lobbyists” figures has been released recently to the media and public.

In particular the outing of Sam Dastyari, ALP Federal senator, by ASIO and the Turnbull government for his pro-Chinese activities has been the most sensational. It is reminiscent of the hatchet job done on David Coombe by ASIO during the 1980's Hawke government era, because of his dealings with the Soviet diplomat, KGB spy Valery Ivanov.

When it comes to rival foreign powers, there are no half measures. Other agents of influence have been put under the spotlight such as Bob Carr, former ALP NSW premier and Federal government Foreign Minister, and Andrew Robb, former Coalition Federal Minister for Trade for their high profile lobbyist roles on behalf of the Australia China Relations Institute and the Landbridge Group Chinese owned corporation.

It is surprising how foolish they appear when agents of influence change horses, plead innocence and ignorance to rebukes of their former overlord (America) for crawling off to another (China). Sell-outs and opportunists are not tolerated when it comes to the life and death struggles between empires, unless it is the empire itself doing the deal. 

This has provided fertile ground and ammunition to the Turnbull Coalition government and pro-US forces in Australia to whip up hysteria about agents of influence connections to foreign powers, meaning China, and put them under the blowtorch of treasonous behaviour. The slogan, "Australia must be sovereign, not reliant" that is used to defend the country's rejection of Chinese interference is ironic, coming from politicians who boast of being “joined at the hip” with their US imperialist masters.

The following organisations that promote American strategic interests and are funded by the US will no doubt not be placed on the Government's foreign influence register: Center for Strategic and International Studies, Alliances and American Leadership Project; Australian American Leadership Dialogue; Australian Strategic Policy Institute; and The United States Study Centre at the University of Sydney.

Australia's sovereignty has been surrendered totally to US strategic interests by both major political parties, the upper echelons of the state apparatus and military since the Second World War. The US is threatened by the rise of China's economic and military expansion and is making long term plans to repel its phenomenal rise and kill off the myriad of economic and military strategies that China is now undertaking.

What is China up to?

China has an impressive list of expansionist undertakings, such as: "One belt, one road" initiative, Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, BRICS, and China's advance into Africa. Ultimately China's expansion is a challenge to US dominance of the world and will eventually lead each to the political choice of war.

Both powers are preparing for it. Hence China's military build-up on the artificial islands in the South China Sea to thwart US led sea blockade, and the United States led "Pivot to Asia" strategy and Quadrilateral Security Dialogue.

Whilst  US aggression is the greatest threat of war in the world today, China is certainly no Florence Nightingale. Its economic expansion at home and abroad certainly has nothing to do with socialism.

Workers in China are subjected to ruthless forms of extreme exploitation, where there is submissive and alienated labour and the extraction of surplus value, in much the same way that capitalism operates in the West. However, its capitalism is different to the West's and the United States.

China does not solely operate commodity production for profit, based on spontaneous market relations, where the rate of profit determines its investment cycles and generates periodic economic crises.

State ownership of the means of production and state planning remain dominant in China.  Its economic rise has been achieved by a kind of state capitalist mode of production.

Consequently, its external economic activities with other countries around the world can't properly be categorised as imperialist like the West's. In contrast to the West's imperialism China is attempting to construct integrated and sovereign modern industries; manage a 'balance' between it's modern industrial infrastructure with rural private production; and control the country’s integration into the world system dominated by the monopolies of the imperialist trinity - United States, Europe, Japan.

In competing with the imperialist trinity, China carries out economic agreements with other countries that, whilst there is exploitation, do offer useful infrastructure to especially developing economies that will allow them to achieve economic independence from the West. In addition, the Chinese leadership continues to profess adherence to Marxism (as expressly stated by Xi Jinping at the recent 19th Congress of the Communist Party of China) and maintains that its economic system is socialist. Therefore, a better description of China's economic behaviour internationally would be social-imperialist (“socialist in words, imperialist in deeds”).

Competition from China as far as US imperialism is concerned cannot go unchallenged. Consequently, all avenues of combat - political, economic, cultural and military - will be employed by both sides to win supremacy.

The political machinations that are currently going on in Australia today, are not essentially a contest between Australia and China, but one between the global rivals, US and China. The comprador ruling class are carrying out their tasks to fulfil the strategic requirements of the US global order to the detriment  of Australia's independence, sovereignty and freedom.
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Further reading: China’s response to interference allegations: http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1079990.shtml