The sooner Australia embraces and understands the value of China, the better equipped we’ll be to shape our own future, rather than having it shaped for us.
It’s time to call out the mainstream media for what it really is.
News Corps, the largest player by far is an agent of foreign influence (the US and Israeli governments). Seven is a personal influence project for Kerry Stokes and the WA extraction industry interests. Nine is a real estate, sport and gambling company. The ABC is a cowed entity that has practically removed itself from the news business and is led by an ex-News Corp/ FOXTEL CEO and a disgraced former CEO of Nine.
Given the above, it’s a fantasy to expect them to adapt to the reality of the emerging realignments in geopolitics and economics with any purpose around civic responsibility and nuance.
Of course, the US tech giants are even worse and are aligned to a neo-fascist chaos project that expects deference and fealty.
Albanese is light years ahead of the Coalition and the ALP is the one pursuing Australia’s best interests while the agents of America demand we prostrate ourselves before the Mad Orange King.
I am far from being an Albanese fan, but I think that - so far, at least - he's been handling relarions with both China and the US sensibly enough...nothing brilliant, but rational and competent.
The LNP is still stuck in Cold War confrontational thinking.
The commercial media have little knowledge of history and just ask childish 'gotcha' questions.
American policy-makers are obsessed with the idea China is a threat to America's dominance.
Meanwhile, the rest of the world is just getting on with making the best of reality.
Albanese's main achievement in Beijing was in getting Chinese steel makers and Australian iron ore miners together to plan manufacturing 'green steel'. This is the future.
You make many great points here. The government's policy towards China is very pragmatic and sensible. However, to say that there is no evidence of China's Taiwanese intentions is frankly wrong.
You may be able to excuse their military modernisation as strategic competition with the US, the rehearsals and density of traffic encircling Taiwan as military preparedness. These are rights of every sovereign nation. But is much harder to ignore the clearly stated aims of Xi and other CCP officials themselves. They've stated their intentions to "reunite" with Taiwan many times on public record.
I particularly agree with your argument for the hypocrisy of the current US administration when contrasted with the actions of China. But the omission of evidence for China's intention weakens this piece.
Australia is entitled to both mend the fence with China, and develop strategic independence from the US, without being blind to threat China pose to Taiwan and also our other regional allies. Would that not make us a more moral, reliable regional ally ourselves?
Indeed! Funny how the same people who cheered Abbott’s shirtfront diplomacy now clutch their pearls at the idea of measured engagement.
Albanese isn’t “appeasing” China — he’s treating Asia like the region we actually live in, not some distant threat on a Risk board.
Australia doesn’t need to play deputy sheriff in someone else’s cowboy movie. It needs to act like a nation with its own interests — and its own voice.
It’s time to call out the mainstream media for what it really is.
News Corps, the largest player by far is an agent of foreign influence (the US and Israeli governments). Seven is a personal influence project for Kerry Stokes and the WA extraction industry interests. Nine is a real estate, sport and gambling company. The ABC is a cowed entity that has practically removed itself from the news business and is led by an ex-News Corp/ FOXTEL CEO and a disgraced former CEO of Nine.
Given the above, it’s a fantasy to expect them to adapt to the reality of the emerging realignments in geopolitics and economics with any purpose around civic responsibility and nuance.
Of course, the US tech giants are even worse and are aligned to a neo-fascist chaos project that expects deference and fealty.
Albanese is light years ahead of the Coalition and the ALP is the one pursuing Australia’s best interests while the agents of America demand we prostrate ourselves before the Mad Orange King.
Now, Albo, about this AUKUS thing …..
Perfectly stated. Nothing to add here .
I am far from being an Albanese fan, but I think that - so far, at least - he's been handling relarions with both China and the US sensibly enough...nothing brilliant, but rational and competent.
These days, looking around the broader world "rational and competent" is both reassuring & rare
Exactly! It's a bit sad when the merely okay starts to look good. But that seems to be the world we're living in.
Agree.
The LNP is still stuck in Cold War confrontational thinking.
The commercial media have little knowledge of history and just ask childish 'gotcha' questions.
American policy-makers are obsessed with the idea China is a threat to America's dominance.
Meanwhile, the rest of the world is just getting on with making the best of reality.
Albanese's main achievement in Beijing was in getting Chinese steel makers and Australian iron ore miners together to plan manufacturing 'green steel'. This is the future.
You make many great points here. The government's policy towards China is very pragmatic and sensible. However, to say that there is no evidence of China's Taiwanese intentions is frankly wrong.
You may be able to excuse their military modernisation as strategic competition with the US, the rehearsals and density of traffic encircling Taiwan as military preparedness. These are rights of every sovereign nation. But is much harder to ignore the clearly stated aims of Xi and other CCP officials themselves. They've stated their intentions to "reunite" with Taiwan many times on public record.
I particularly agree with your argument for the hypocrisy of the current US administration when contrasted with the actions of China. But the omission of evidence for China's intention weakens this piece.
Australia is entitled to both mend the fence with China, and develop strategic independence from the US, without being blind to threat China pose to Taiwan and also our other regional allies. Would that not make us a more moral, reliable regional ally ourselves?
Canada and Australia have so much in common; whole paragraphs of that apply the same to us.
Indeed! Funny how the same people who cheered Abbott’s shirtfront diplomacy now clutch their pearls at the idea of measured engagement.
Albanese isn’t “appeasing” China — he’s treating Asia like the region we actually live in, not some distant threat on a Risk board.
Australia doesn’t need to play deputy sheriff in someone else’s cowboy movie. It needs to act like a nation with its own interests — and its own voice.
That’s not weakness. That’s finally growing up.
Typo? "... rather than a US “deputy sheriff”. ..."