By Philip Yeung
Why waste your money, Australia. Save your billions for welfare, not for an unfounded fear of unlikely warfare
We are in the crazy new era with a crazy man in the White House. News just came that Australia has paid America its first instalment of US$800 million for Virginia Class nuclear submarines, with more going to Britain for another model. The total tab runs into 368 billion when Australia's economy is faltering. That pile of cash represents the single biggest investment in military hardware in its entire history. Administering this budget is the Australian Submarine Agency. Less than one and a half years old, it is already under a top-to-bottom review to fathom out a whole host of problems, from low efficiency to low staff morale. How could its staff see the purpose of its submarine acquisition, when the only beneficiaries of the project are Australia's two alliance partners, Britain and America? The submarines are burning a big hole in Australia's pocket, and may eventually rust and rot at the bottom of the ocean. In tennis, they call it an unforced error. In football, it is known as an own goal.
Geopolitical plates are shifting. America has threatened to expel Canada from Five Eyes. In the Trump era, alliances are expediencies. They have lost their meaning. America only cleans its own doorsteps. No one is safe. Not Canada, not Europe, and certainly not Australia. What makes you think you would be the lucky exception?
Australia hasn't named its potential foe, but any fool knows that China is the target. Russia is too far north to let its tentacles reach Down Under. It has imperial ambitions, but China does not.
And what exactly has China done to you anyway? The two countries have no quarrels. You may be America's bosom friend for now. but America's quarrel is not your quarrel. Your ill-advised involvement in American overseas conflicts has landed you in hot water. Haven't you learned your bitter lesson from the Afghan misadventure? You are already up to your neck in alliances: Five Eyes, the Quad and Aukus. How many more encirclements do you need before you can feel safe, against an imaginary enemy? China, your largest trading partner, is guiltless and conflict-free, and shouldn't be in your crosshairs. Why let America's anti-China propaganda drive you into being needlessly provocative? It is time to reset your irrational relationship with China.
Australia's unwarranted anxieties may have historical roots and misplaced geopolitical concerns.
The historical antecedents date back to the Japanese war of aggression across Asia-Pacific. China, at peace for over half a century, is the global nice guy, but it does not stop Australia's leap of logic in painting the rising Asian giant as a looming security threat. Australian suspicions about China's geopolitical intentions may have resulted from Australia's nightmarish memories about Japan, treating China as the yellow peril that Japan once was.
The only major power embroiled in non-stop foreign wars is America. Russia sits in the number two spot, with wars in Afghanistan and now in Ukraine. Only China is squeaky-clean and at peace. Its only sin is that its success has made America squirm.
Unlike bicoastal America, China is vulnerable with just a single coastline that can easily be blockaded in the South China Sea. Keeping this body of water safe for commerce is vital to its survival. Militarizing the islands in the region is about self-protection, not territorial expansion. If Australia were in China's shoes, it would do no different.
As for Taiwan, it is an integral part of China, and recognized as such internationally, by both Australia and America. And yet, peace across the Taiwan Strait has been overshadowed by separatist provocations. Taiwan is China's uncrossable red line, territorial integrity being utterly non-negotiable. Under no circumstances will China tolerate Taiwan being turned into a tool of its encirclement. That is the root cause of the Taiwan tensions. The mainland-Taiwan conundrum is a different kettle of fish from the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The occasional saber-rattling is to keep the West from poking its fingernails into China's soft underbelly.
Pacific interests are best served by Australia remaining neutral and uninvolved.
Trump has trumpeted his America-first doctrine. Australia may soon follow Canada into the same boat. Millions of Canadians are boycotting American goods to kill off Trump's territorial appetite. In the Trump era, it is every country for itself. American alliances inevitably end in wars. They don't prevent them. China only exports the Belt and Road benefits, not bombs and bombers. As a key player in the region, Australia is duty-bound to uphold peace in the Pacific. Jumping on the US warmongering wagon runs counter to its and your own vital interests. Be an angel. Not a devil's accessory.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of DotDotNews.
Read more articles by Philip Yeung:
Opinion | How to tame Trump—make it messy, lengthy and sleepy
Opinion | How China reinvented itself--- A recipe for super-success in nation-building
Opinion | Trump is turning the world upside down
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