Commentary by Anthony Kelly, Melbourne, Naarm.
Wage Peace finds the Red Alert media story in the Channel 9 media (Age SMH and 7media) on Wednesday 8th March deplorable. We see Richard Marles’ – together with Stephen Smith the author of the strategic paper – disgusting alliance with the US in action as do what they are told they prepare Australian’s for giving huge amounts to WEAPONS corporations.
People see through it. But they are not sure how to act. Call out the weapons corporations. It really is a critical time. Below is a reflection by friend of Wage Peace, Anthony Kelly.
Some cursory observations about the Red Alert media war-mongering series in the Age/Sydney morning Herald this week.
It draws in five ‘experts’ – all aligned within a narrow security defence preparedness mindset. No peace researchers, China experts or diplomats.
The framing is extremely narrow, in fact far more narrow than the so called Defence White Papers and other industry generated ASPI papers- basically limited to ‘could we cope militarily if China invaded us?’ That’s entirely the wrong question.
There is zero critique of Australia’s military alliance with or subservience to the US war-fighting strategies and how that remains our single largest strategic risk as a nation.
Blind support for the US is assumed by the editors – rather than challenged or questioned – like real journalism.
It refers to US bases being targets in a potential war – yet offers no critique that removing them might make us safer. Red Alert even states that 200,000 US troops would be targets if stationed here. Again – it’s the US alliance that makes us potentially unsafe but that obvious conclusion is not drawn by these ‘experts’.
The fact that China has the US navy routinely exercising off its coast, and is almost entirely surrounded by bases and US allies, and has been dealing with continual economic and political containment by the US for decades….is not even mentioned.
There is zero analysis or even mention of the current global security architecture, such as global weapons regulations, bans and sanctions (as frail as it is), that Australia is also a part of and can also decide to invest in as part of its ‘defence strategy’ if it chooses. Nuclear Weapons ban anyone?
Red Alert articles have a clear narrative – emphasizing or headlining factors that might lead to war often with great hyperbole – whilst minimizing or scooting around those that make it look less likely.
Former Diplomat David Livingstone has said that “China has neither the capability nor intention to undertake a maritime invasion of Australia, and it is clear that the ADF will not impact China’s thinking on Taiwan” This little observation from back in February is ignored.
Peace and security pundits have been warning of the rapid miltarisation of the entire Asia-Pacific region for years – India, Japan, Korea are all modernising and expanding militaries along with China. Rather than critique or even explore the risks of the Asia Pacific’s decade long arm’s race spiral – where countries repeatedly reinforce their own militaries in response to the growth of their neighbors’ forces, Red Alert just feeds into it.
“Buy more weapons” is the ultimate and only solution this ‘innovatiove, in-depth, investigative’ piece of drival offers. It’s like a full-colour, wrap-around, sponsored ad for AUKUS.
Let’s not mention climate change hey.