Home Australia The World Has Changed and Australia Needs to Recognise That Reality

The World Has Changed and Australia Needs to Recognise That Reality

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By James O’Neill*

The election of the Labour government in Australia raised a number of hopes, not least that the slavish adherence to the United States view of the world might be broken and that Australia would finally reflect on what the independent foreign policy thinker Hugh White had to say. In an address last week to the Brisbane branch of the AIIA, in a speech based upon his recent article in the Quarterly Essay (Sleepwalk to War) he had this to say.

The Australian reliance on the United States is misguided and basically against Australia’s foreign policy interests. This is most clearly reflected in the attitude to China. China is by far Australia’s largest trading partner. It currently takes about 40% of Australia’s total exports, despite some recent difficulties over some exports with restrictions imposed following several frankly undiplomatic and incompetent remarks by the former Prime Minister and his foreign secretary.

In recent days Australia’s new foreign minister has met with her Chinese counterpart and what is clearly an attempt to improve relations between the two countries. The Chinese for their part appear to have dropped the 14 points of difference with Australia over their trading relationship. Penny Wong for her part has been careful to avoid overt criticism of China over its relationship with Taiwan and more generally other countries in general and those in its region in particular.

There are of course many remaining points of difference between the two countries. One of those is China’s ongoing support for Russia in the latter’s ongoing war with Ukraine. The Western media seems to be incapable of accurately reporting that war. I recently attended an address to the AIIA by Ukraine’s ambassador to Australia.  He showed similar historical blindness to the realities of that conflict. The overwhelming focus of the media seems to be on the Russian intervention in the Donbass region in February of this year. The Ukrainian conflict has been going on for a lot longer than the past seven months of this year. It began in 2014 with the violent overthrow of the legally elected government of Ukraine in an American-organised and paid-for coup d’état.

The NATO secretary of state Jens Stoltenberg recently admitted that the United States had been preparing for war against Russia since that 2014 coup.  The Americans have also acknowledged that they had no intention of supporting the 2015 compromise worked out by Ukraine and the two Donbass republics plus France and Germany. They systematically worked to undermine that agreement with the willing compliance of the Ukrainians who similarly had no intention of meeting the aims of the 2015 agreement.

More recently we have had the frankly unhinged comments of the Ukrainian president Zelensky saying that Ukraine’s aim was to not only defeat the Donbas regions, but also restore Crimea to its ownership. It is a measure of how unhinged and detached from reality the Ukrainian position has become. In the case of Crimea it also wilfully ignores actual history. In this, he is aided and abetted by western politicians and their lame media.

Crimea was gifted to Ukraine in 1954 by then-Soviet leader Nikita Krushchev, himself a Ukrainian, without reference to the people of that island. After the 2014 coup in Ukraine, the people of Crimea voted to apply to rejoin Russia. This is systematically misrepresented in the western media as Russia seizing or annexing Crimea, thereby completely ignoring the vote that expressed the overwhelming wish of the Crimean people to be rid of the now undemocratic republic of Ukraine and to be reunited with Russia.

It was one of the more absurd fantasies of the previous unlamented ex-prime minister of the United Kingdom Boris Johnson that Crimea should be returned to Ukraine, not only ignoring the democratic wishes of the Crimean people, but also the relevant history and for that matter the example of Kosovo who similarly wished to separate themselves from Serbia. The separation was strongly supported by the United Kingdom and the other Western powers who now protest the exercise of similar rights by the people of Crimea whose historical claims are in fact infinitely stronger than that of the Kosovans.

Notwithstanding White’s powerful argument, Australia has gone ahead with its adherence to the United States line by providing equipment to Ukraine for use in this war with Russia. The aid was not trivial, with an estimated $100 million of equipment being provided. The Australian people were not consulted on the decision to involve this country in the war.  It was virtually unmentioned during the recent general election campaign, possibly because the view of the two principal parties contesting the election were indistinguishable.

It is difficult to ascertain any vital Australian interest at stake in the current Ukrainian war and no attempt has been made by either the former nor the current Australian government to offer any justification. It seems to be, yet again, another attempt to curry favour with the Americans, as though the experience of the past several decades does not provide enough in the way of salutary lessons for Australia involving itself in United States wars of choice.

One might have thought that Australia’s experience in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan should have provided some solitary lessons on the consequences of involving itself in the wholly unjustified United States’ wars of choice. Perhaps the lesson that has been slowest to penetrate the brains of the Canberra decision-makers is that the world has changed. The United States is the longer the world’s leading economic power. Its capacity to influence the rest of the world has radically diminished. One has only to look at the 145 countries that have signed up to China’s Belt and Road Initiative to see how the world has changed.

The recent meeting of foreign ministers of the G20 group of nations failed to achieve a vote condemning Russia for the current war in Ukraine. Brazil, China, India, and Russia all voted against a proposed motion condemning Russia’s actions in the war. That vote received very little attention by the Australian mainstream media which still clings to the idea of an all-powerful West dictating terms to the rest of the world. Those days are gone and the sooner Australia and the West recognise the changes the better off we will all be.

Geopolitical analyst.  He may be contacted at jamesoneill83@icloud.com

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24 COMMENTS

  1. James, it looks like paragraphs 2 through 8 are written by Hugh White, and the rest by Our James — is that correct?

  2. James,
    You grew up here and know everything was once made in Oz for everyones benefit. Free (slave) trade is an abomination. Our only saving grace is to restore self sufficiency and protection with tariffs on imported trash. Bit late now the horse has bolted.
    In blaming Americans (ditto for Oz and other five eyes) are you referring to the krown kabal lobby now joined at the hip with CCP on the one belt?
    Pawns on all sides, are not to blame for being cannon fodder now as then.

    • ant56, your post says, “Free (slave) trade is an abomination” L.O.L. Yet right now, we have a court hearing on the SLAVE TRADE in Australia, utilising the indigenous people’s to work for flour and tea leaves on our PASTORAL LEASES. What say you of that SLAVE TRADE. Of course it wasn’t only the Pastoralists who got rich from their slave trade, QLD too benefited mightily from stealing people from their homes, and bringing them to Australia for free labor, many never again saw their homeland. L.O.L Of course should I mention the Back packers being ripped off, or the migrants in the same position ? The hypocrisy practiced by Australians today, apparently knows no bounds. It may have escaped your hatred, to realise the people of China, actually have more say in their Governments actions, than we do here in Australia. Pray tell, were WE asked what OUR thoughts would be for supplying Ukraine with weapons and funding from the taxpayer ??? L.O.L. Not likely. Ask any Chines whether they would accept such decisions without protest, you’ll be pleasantly surprised at the answer. But then Bias is bias, and folks will never change their minds. The mind games are going full throttle, it’s only when the bombs start to drop and bodies fly everywhere, there’s a glimmer of reality, as many Ukrainians themselves are starting to realise today.

      • Just talked to a Chinese national yesterday, been here a few years but with only average English, VERY happy to be here, in light of recent events in China even MORE happy to be here.

  3. The Main$treamMedia is a disgrace, their lies of omission are a toxic blight on our entire culture, this doesn’t mean we abandon the US or even British Empire, we are stuck with our roots for better or worse. Relying on China is not such a great idea and it has already gone too far. At the moment they aren’t taking so many of our imports because of the CCP’s insane lockdowns programs.

    • And WHY wouldn’t we, Australia abandon the British Empire, because sure as God made little green apples, they did not hesitate abandoning us on NUMEROUS occasions. I fail to see the slavish sucking up to the Brits, who have dumped on Australia at every opportunity. Talk about the beaten wife coming back for more, Australia takes the cake.

      • Because the average bogan “relates to” the Chinese even less.
        But I am including the US DeepState as a hybridised part of the British Empire.
        If the swamp is drained in the US 2023 we have a future, otherwise we may as well be Ukrainians, Syrians, Libyans or anyone like that. The only question is how fast and how far we go down.

      • Eddy… You are big on broad accusations but your evidence is so thin it is invisible.

        Getting back to your comment about tea and sugar on stations, it is clear that you have no idea how many hours were worked, or how the station stores functioned, or the Wards Subsidy Payements, or what Gibbs Communities were.

        I am presuming you are from Queensland, or you just adopt whatever accusations fly around.

        And now you presume some 1940 ultimatum applies. Get over it and get up to date.

        China has ripped the arse out of Australia through free trade, and the US and UK stood by smirking.

        What we are calling for is to restore Australian manufacturing This requires restored tariffs, and expulsion of the US and China and Israel.

        We also reject the UN and WEF.

        Now say your bit.

    • Joe, couldn’t help myself, after reading your post no less than three times, I found it incredible, that your lamenting China’s “At the moment they aren’t taking so many of our imports because of the CCP’s insane lockdowns programs.”
      BUT, where was your concern when the Brits joined the Common Market and dumped all it’s trade agreements with Australia at the drop of a hat, leaving our producers up the creek without a paddle. Causing the greatest impact on our wool industry, which took generations to recover) The agricultural industry was nearly wiped out in the time it took to find alternative markets. We went thru similar situation then, as you are claiming we are going through now because of China’s beligerance. But hey, it’s O.K. if the Brits do it to us, what ?? I wont delve too deeply into the abandonment of our nation during WW 2, wasn’t too much importance placed upon the ALLEGED EMPIRE then, was there, they gave us to the Japs, whilst demanding our troops defend their Isle and fight THEIR fight in Europe. It was up to our P.M (who just happened to be a Labor member) to stand up to Churchill, over rode his orders, and ordered the convoy to return to Australia to defend our shores. British Empire ?, Pfft a pox on them, we don’t need them, back stabbing S.O.B.’s. I find it difficult to accept, Australian people are unawares of this betrayal.

      • Well you are seeing things in terms of actual defined nations and I am seeing them in terms of populations and financial capacity so it’s quite a different assessment. Arguably the most precious site in ww2 was wherever they were developing weapons such as jet engines, atom bombs, rockets and so forth, a lot of this was being done in Germany. Australia was supplying more rudimentary stuff. Some Australians may not like it but they are basically British which is a combination of peoples from around the North Sea, and that is just what they are, or were, about ww2.
        Don’t take it personally that the British aristocracy stabbed Australia in the back, they do it to everyone, especially their own citizens, who turn up in huge crowds to celebrate the Queen hologram riding along in her golden coach. It would be no different elsewhere, for example Thailand, in dealing with the various border states. We all tend to be aligned by our ancestry, the deal may be bad but the alternatives are usually worse.

  4. Luckily, we have leaders that can turn a $25 million investment into a 3 billion $ insurance payout.
    For some shit turns to gold and from most gold is taken.

    • Everything seems tainted through the warped media narratives, to different degrees and even directions.
      We seem to share a bit of “the creek,( sh&*!stream for all, sometimes at least)’.

      Hello James, I’m your biggest potential trading partner. I won’t get a lookin as per, like a science book won’t get a lookin.

      Fish has been quiet lately, hope he has a bit of clean creek to enjoy

  6. Bill Gates saves the world – again
    But who will save the world from Bill Gates
    https://www.r t.com/news/558937-gates-donation-foundation-climate-pandemic/

    RT getting blocked again !!! close the gap between r & t

  8. Surely no thinking Aussie expected a change in foreign policy in Australia because of a change in Government. Aren’t both major parties controlled by the City of London?

    That is why I have become involved with the AustraliaOne organisation, in the hope of eventually being able to make some sensible changes in Australian politics.

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