By Binoy Kampmark Australia’s obsequiousness before US power was again on show at the Shangri-La Dialogue, a security forum convened by the International Institute for Strategic Studies to discuss matters relevant to the Indo-Pacific. What was clear was that the US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth was in a fighting mood. “America is proud to be back in the Indo-Pacific …
By Richard Stone Moves by Kiribati to negotiate a deep-sea mining deal with China, have closely followed similar moves by the Cook Islands. The moves have taken place against a backcloth of underlying trends in the global economy and a changing balance of forces, with far-reaching implications for US hegemony. The two tiny Pacific Island countries have, for example, geo-strategic …
By Binoy Kampmark February 7 saw the first AUKUS meeting held between officials of the Trump administration and their Australian servitors since the changing of the guard in the White House. In attendance was the US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and his unbearably compliant Australian counterpart Richard Marles. From all general appearances, the sense was that a change of government …
By Richard Stone A scramble appears under-way by the US to secure access to port facilities across the Indo-Pacific region for sensitive re-loading of armaments. The stated diplomatic position follows revelations about how the US Defence Department has already authorised their naval vessels in September to use Australian facilities for re-loading with cruise missiles. No comment has been forthcoming from …
By Richard Stone The official medal to a top US spook in Canberra has provided little room for ambiguity when assessing the close working relationship between the Australian and US intelligence services. They are closely linked. Australia has, therefore, been drawn ever closer to the US through diplomatic agreements, and continues to host their sensitive military and intelligence facilities. The …
by Richard Stone In April, the Australian government selected US arms manufacturer Lockheed Martin to partner the Department of Defence to build the JP Defence Satellite Communications system following the tender process. It has shown the age-old concept of the military-industrial complex is alive and well in Australia, with all that area of state activity entails with security vetting procedures …
By Brian Boyd, July 2023 This is the third of a three part-series that examines the strategic reasons for the AUKUS pact and the dangers for Australia. REAL NATIONAL SOVEREIGNTY While Prime Minister Albanese, Foreign Minister Wong and Defence Minister Marles have gone to great pains to insist that Australia’s ‘national sovereignty’ will govern the operations of the future nuclear …
by Richard Stone Recent coverage about the diplomatic significance of President Biden not attending the ASEAN summit has tended to concentrate upon information of questionable relevance while ignoring the significance of related matters. The growing significance of ASEAN as a regional trade body in the most dynamic sector of the global economy and the strategic nature of some member countries, …
By Brian Boyd, July 2023 This is the second of a three part-series that examines the strategic reasons for the AUKUS pact and the dangers for Australia. SILENCE With the growing global tensions, the Australian government is, so far, remaining silent on what is the actual existential military threat facing our nation. For some years a bevy of pro-US …
By Brian Boyd, July 2023 This is the first of a three part-series that examines the strategic reasons for the AUKUS pact and the dangers for Australia. INTRODUCTIONThe first half of 2023 saw the political position of Australia changing dramatically, specifically in relation to the often stated “dangerous deterioration in relations between the two superpowers”, the US and China. This …
