- by William Briggs
- The Guardian
- Issue #2128
Minister for Defence, Richard Marles. Photo: US DoD/Chad J McNeeley – flickr.com (CC BY 2.0)
Australian Minister for Defence, Richard Marles, has shown yet again that he will spare no effort in preparing Australia for war. It doesn’t faze him that there is no threat. He helps create a threat perception and then acts.
Marles has just signed a deal with his Canadian counterpart, Bill Blair, to spend $474 million on ‘researching emerging missile threats.’ As Blair said, “we’re going to focus on countering hypersonic weapon systems and under this new agreement … [we will be] very closely tied in all of our efforts collectively together.”
The focus of their research will be on ‘potential adversaries’ in the Pacific region. This was the thrust of a joint statement issued by Marles and Blair. “As potential adversaries continue to develop more advanced missiles … new solutions are required to defeat these threats.” The statement also talks about a “shared objective of security and stability in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond.”
The statement highlighted the “long history” of Canada-Australia collaboration on defence science and technology, including under the Five Eyes intelligence gathering alliance.
The ministers added that the partnership “will fast-track understanding of advanced missile technologies and inform next-generation defence solutions.”
There is hardly a week that passes that does not see Marles smiling into the cameras as he makes further preparations for war. It might be to show how extra spending on long range missiles is in our ‘defence’ interests. It might be to herald a new initiative to build missiles in Australia, or to spruik the advantages of handing over control of our territory to the USA in the Northern Territory.
The joint announcement in Canada was made at the annual summit meeting of the Halifax International Security Forum (HISF), an “annual summit for international government and military officials, academic experts, authors and entrepreneurs,” held in Halifax in Canada. It is organised by what is officially designated as an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit organisation based, not in Halifax, nor indeed in Canada, but just across the border in Washington DC.
It exists, according to its mission statement, ‘to strengthen strategic cooperation among the world’s democracies.’ It sets about its task of defending democracy through global security. As Marles and Blair see it, democracy is best served and defended through the barrel of a gun.
Richard Marles’ eyes are never far from the region and his pre-occupation is always on saving us from an advancing ‘China threat.’ He would not have been disappointed in the debates. The defenders of freedom and democracy spent a good deal of time and energy on China and especially on Taiwan, but the war against Russia was foremost in the thinking of all. This became abundantly clear when the former president of Taiwan, Tsai Ing-wen, addressed the forum.
Her speech focused, less on Taiwan and the ‘Chinese threat’ and more on Ukraine. A united front of pro-US forces has solidified. She argued that the United States must ‘prioritise helping Ukraine.’ She still found time to talk of the potential ‘invasion’ from China, but stressed that the USA “should do whatever they can to help the Ukrainians … We [Taiwan] still have time.”
The former Taiwanese leader was assured that her words would be heard. Peter Van Praag, founding president of HISF, enthusiastically declared that “what we have done here, is basically given everybody a sense of optimism … We are going to choose victory, and we are going to work together as a community of democracies, with the brave Ukrainians and push Russia out of Ukraine.”
As Van Praag was celebrating, another meeting was taking place in Canada. It was the 70th Annual session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, held this year in Montreal. There was predictable talk of “shared democratic values” and opposition to “autocratic powers” (other than the autocratic powers not on the US naughty list).
Anti-NATO and pro-Palestinian demonstrations met the meeting. Canadian PM Justin Trudeau denounced the violence on the streets while protesters were baton-charged and tear-gassed, democratically of course.
For Richard Marles, his Canadian tour was a success. For Australian working people who are up for $474 billion spent on escalating tensions, less so.
