“I mean, it’d make a cat laugh.” – Paul Keating , National Press Club, Wednesday, 10 November 2021 speaking on US foreign policy in the Indo-Pacific.
Visit by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken shoring up the QUAD alliance does not bode well for peace in our region
- US and Australia fail to learn the lessons from Afghanistan war
- Australia spending billions to stay close to the USA and prepare for war
- Nuclear powered submarines are another mistaken
According to the Chairperson of the Independent and Peaceful Australia Network, Ms Annette Brownlie, “In the aftermath of the failed military adventures in Afghanistan and Iraq, Australia continues to see conflict through the lens of a military response under the direction from the USA.“
This week’s visit from US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken to Australia, meeting with members of the so-called QUAD, has stated aims to “raise our ambition in the region, including on climate, maritime, and transportation issues”. These must be viewed within the context of the persistent ‘drums of war’ rhetoric being heard from both US and Australian politicians.
The Secretary of State is here and later in Fiji to shore up US support in the Pacific. Most countries (other than Australia) prefer not to have to choose between the US and China but want peaceful relations with both. This doesn’t suit the US however, who are losing the economic and political war with China, and are falling back on their old standby, the military.