Is it trying to stoke anti-China sentiment in Australia?
In a report by Andrew Tillett in the Australian Financial Review on 29 January the new Japanese Ambassador to Australia Shingo Yamagami San said: “Japan is encouraging Australia to step up joint naval exercises in the East China Sea to help regional peace and stability amid increasing incursions by Chinese vessels and aircraft into Japanese territory.”
He raised Linda Reynold’s two recent visits in November 2020 to Japan regarding Japanese Self Defence Forces support to stepped-up Australian navy and airforce patrols in the East China Sea (see Aurelia George Mulgan’s article in the ANU East Asia Forum of Nov 6 2020).
This is a subject rarely covered in the Australian media, but it raises the question about what are Australian forces going to do along the Chinese coast in the East China Sea and in so-called “Taiwanese territory”? Surely it would be best for us to keep out!
Why is Ambassador Yamagami publicly promoting Australian naval activity on the Chinese coast?
Perhaps we have been doing this for a long time in coordination with the US without Japan’s SDF support, but operating very much under the radar.
Yamagami San added to his anti-China stance by saying that Japan “is willing to help Australia reduce its trade dependence on China”. How is Japan going to do that?
Yamagami San also mentioned Chinese “use of trade as a weapon”. He instanced the so-called “ban” on rare earths against Japan over the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands dispute in 2010, and that Japan took China to the WTO over this and won. But I recall that the Chinese rare earth export restrictions at that time had nothing to do with the Senkaku Islands and was not aimed exclusively at Japan.
China imposed “temporary” export controls on its rare earths which affected all overseas markets including the US, Japan, South Korea and Europe. This action was driven by domestic complexities in the rare earth sector in China, including efforts to close down small illegal operations and consolidate small scale uneconomic mining operations. It also related to Chinese environmental concerns, and efforts to stamp out smuggling of rare earth exports. The WTO ultimately forced China to withdraw all controls placed on rare earth exports, and I understand China has complied with that order (once it put its own rare earth house in order).
Yamagumi San said that strengthening intelligence sharing with Australia, presumably joining the ‘Five Eyes’ alliance, was one of his priorities. Is that really on the agenda?
Shouldn’t such a sensitive matter as this be left to Ministers to publicly discuss?
I wonder what the Chinese Embassy in Canberra thinks of this behaviour by the Japanese Embassy? Or the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade for that matter?
John Menadue is the Founder and Editor in Chief of Pearls and Irritations. He was formerly Secretary of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet under Gough Whitlam and Malcolm Fraser, Ambassador to Japan, Secretary of the Department of Immigration and CEO of Qantas.
Comments
33 responses to “What is the Japanese Embassy in Canberra up to?”
With Linda Reynold’s in charge of defence we have nothing but a puppet for the military industrial complex in the federal government and of course rare earths are very attractive to that industry.
What we have seen since Abbott was elected is successive Liberal governments pushing for Australia to become a big player in the defence industry. Some who have left politics have used their knowledge to also gain lucrative jobs in the same areas of work. Cronyism is rife.
If you read Chinese newspapers, the focus on the US as a danger now that we are post-Trump has receded, and there is much positive hope that there will be more stability and cooperation between the two countries. Valencia’s article today tends to observe a strategic change backing that view as well. Australia however, has taken over the US’s place on the front pages to our detriment and there are more stories targeting our ridiculous behaviour which they see right through.
Right across the board the Morrison government has a for some ideological reason decided China is the only whipping boy on the block. And their media mates support every thing they do. Whatever this government does is designed to irritate China, and now yet again, the gormless Dan Tehan is wrecking havoc with university research grants and research cooperation between the two countries as well. Same old, same old, we can’t trust China, but if Japan interferes in our politics it is OK.
Once again no consistency in our attitude to all countries.
Japan, like America under Trump is seeking Australia to do its dirty work, while its actual business relations with China, and relations in general, are actually far better than ours.
I believe Morrison is willingly taking this risky path in order to feed into nationalist sentiment which in turn is milking latent forms of yellow peril fears still within the psyche of many Australians. Ironically during the 1990s Japan was the target through Pauline Hanson. Then John Howard absorbed all of her racist policies appealing to the same prejudices. It was the Japanese taking over Australia then, followed by Muslims and refugees from no specific country, and now China is the bogey man.
What Morrison is doing right across the board is turning Australia into a hermetic bubble disconnected from the rest of the world. It is his parochial ‘shire boy’ view of the world that is behind it, Cronulla riots and all, but he knows he has many easily duped followers. If you notice, rejecting the views of the rest of the world on a number of key subjects has become his modus operandi, and each time he appeals to that part of Australian society that will cheer it on with Ozzie Ozzie oi oi! Not a physical shirt-fronter like Abbott, but a attitudinal shirt-fronter none-the -less.
He does this with climate change when much of the rest of the world, even Boris Johnson, tell him he is dreaming. He does it with China. He does it with our Pacific neighbours and even New Zealand. He does it with coal and gas exports when the world says stop it. He does it when we are reprimanded over our human rights violations from many organisations including the UN. And now as a good distraction from the appalling attitude shown to women displayed in parliament house, he does it again with a distraction called Facebook. A convenient smokescreen that also appeals to his base in terms of nationalist sentiment and misplaced pseudo-patriotism. The issue may be real, but the timing is even better. “We will decide what news comes to this country and the circumstances under which it is done”. Same old message.
The point is, this small minded socially incompetent prime minister, can’t even take advice from John Howard when he told Morrison to arrange a meeting with Xi Jinping as early as possible. Morrison in his obstinacy had arranged instead to go to Japan for no really important reason which also gave him an excuse not to attend parliament on return. It also was designed to poke the eye of China in the symbolic statement it made.
I have said for a long time Morrison is making Australia an even greater target from China than the US is now, and it is like he is still dreaming Trump is in power. While the Chinese continue to buffer the Australian economy with iron ore purchases he may well smirk, but the day that changes we are in big trouble. China is actually lifting us out of the pandemic in terms of large increases to our GDP.
Morrison has painted himself into a corner with China to appeal to his base, now he is locked into it through ideology and obstinacy. He trades that relationship to hopefully draw votes from his base that now also includes white supremacists. Nothing will change with China until he and his government are gone.
Great reply George as usual. Complemented so well with John ‘s analysis above. I read another opinion piece in The Age this morning: OPINION
Argumentative, dismissive: Is Scott Morrison the new Jeff Kennett?
Jon Faine
Journalist
WE hope PM Morrison will change course for our true national interest before he “loses all the plots” so to speak.
Regards
Thank you again Dr Ka Sing Chua.
Yes at the bottom of it all with Morrison is his parochial and small minded white Australian view. That, in conjunction with his inability to connect in any genuine social way with people instead of using his ongoing cultivated personas and staged appearances, is having a significant impact with all matters he involves himself in, internationally speaking as well. If he has to ask his wife to explain through reference to his daughters so he can feel some degree of empathy for another girl that is alleged to have be raped, then he is missing something in terms of normal social behaviour and capacity to empathise. He did this before as well when he paid $170,000 to a consultant so he could learn to look empathetic when he was talking to drought stricken farmers.
That $170k didn’t do him any good either with our NSW bushfire victims:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=az4lkKjAsdI
There was an error: the $170k was paid to a ‘consultant’ instead of a neurosurgeon
George, Another insightful laundry list that informs us of the character of the ‘shire boy’. He still wins big time with his conservative base. To hell with our Australian national interest. On the other hand, to paraphrase some famous person, we deserve the government that we elect. Sigh!
Well the problem is that as he continues to milk that base – the only thing he seems to know – he is also moving further out along a tree branch that eventually will snap in terms of our relationship with the international community on any number of issues. The world is not just Australia and Trump’s America.
Australia has seen far greater times when we were engaged with the world in much less xenophobic and insular ways.
George a tour de force of the Shire Boy’s achievements. Have we ever had such an internationally aggressive PM? He is taking on the women of Australia, every decent male with any compassion for the victims of sexual assault, the worlds biggest economy, the IT giants and has alienated the nations of the South Pacific. The “alliance” with Japan is sure to alienate South Korea, North Korea, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines. The Shire Boys new East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere will go over big in ASEAN. Not since the Little Digger Billy Hughes has Australia been so offensively absurd on the world stage. There is an old bush saying “Dont cuddle mugs they will die in your arms. ” Morrison is a mug.
Good synopsis of the state of affairs under Morrison Skilts, and good to see you back, haven’t seen you here for a few days. I think he is out on a limb ready to crack at any time, and painting himself into a corner at the same time. Not many people can achieve that feat.
I also read yesterday, that Biden gave US 200 million to the World Health Organization a couple of days ago, affirming that the US is back as a supporter, a promise he made way back in July last year. It was to cover for the fees since Trump pulled out. Given that Trump accused the WHO of being biased on China’s side, I’d say Biden’s renewed support for WHO is a signal to Morrison that he’s all alone now if he wants to push his barrow up hill with the organization over China.
I also read that some of WHO inspectors complained to the NY Times over false coverage of their report into the origins of the virus in Wuhan.
George i am in a state of shock. I have been banned by Global Times. Is this a portent of a shift in Beijing to a more conciliatory line also? I intend to raise this with Xi on my next short wave call to headquarters in Beijing. Things are moving out there.
Are you serious? Sometimes the site is down. I can still get there now at 6:58 pm
Yes banned by the Global Times mods. Is it possible i have been thrown under a Shenzhen electric bus by Xi as a negotiating sop to the Shire Slugger? If so i will accept my fate as a loyal Agent of Influence.
Only ones I know have been banned are Clive Hamilton and the Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s (ASPI) analyst Alexander Joske.
Like Christ i have been crucified between two thieves.
Why add the mediocre honorific “-san”/さん to his family name, John. Politeness dictates that “~sama”/〜様 is the term to use – or are you being politely pointed! Certainly if the Japanese Ambassador is being so directly engaged in prodding Australia re China then he merits some putting back-in-his-box! It is extremely dangerous! And for the AFR and Andrew Tillett to be reporting on such things without – it would appear – DFAT clarification!
Didn’t know you had excellent Japanese language skills as well. I agree with the rest as too.
The last of the generation of Australians who had to fight the Japanese fascists in the Pacific War are about to shuffle off their mortal coil. If the dead could speak, what a howl of outrage would be heard in this country in opposition to any suggestion of military co-operation with Japan at any level, let alone in relation to joint planned aggression against China, the country which suffered nearly 14 years of the most bestial atrocities at the hands of invading Japs between 1931 and 1945. We must not go down this path.
Hardly anyone knows in Australia about how China suffered repeatedly under several Japanese invasions carried out with shocking cruelty. Not only attacks like the Rape of Nanjing (which was literal), and the invasion of Shanghai, but also in shocking places like Unit 731 in Manchuria.
Virtually no one here knows about Unit 731, but it was a place where rounded up Chinese people (referred to as ‘logs’) and Japanese state prisoners were subjected to vivisection, weapons testing using live human beings, and biological warfare for war research purposes. Guess who inherited the results of the research post WWII. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unit_731
It is true that the Chinese have been under attack in unmerciful ways for a very long time, yet they have rarely been the aggressors. They were our allies in WWII, and even in WWI they helped out with logistic assistance.
Well said mate. It is a disgrace. The Japanese government has yet to formally apologise to China for the appalling treatment of the sex slaves. In the Philippines the survivors of Japanese sex slavery are called the Lolas (grandmothers). The Japanese government of Suga has refused to even acknowledge these brave and poor women in the last years of their terribly hard lives. Morrison would feel right at home in Suga’s company.
Bernard, Skilts, familiar with the tale of Unit 731? If you are, you’ll know it was Unit 731 that formed the basis of the US ‘chemical and biological weapons’ program, post WWII.
All bar 12 of the ‘scientists’ in Unit 731 in Japan were whisked away to Fort Detrick in Maryland, USA, to continue their ‘research’.
The other 12? Tried and convicted as war criminals by the Red Army.
Japan can bluster all they like, to Sth Koreans and Chinamen, but their big problem is the Russians, over the Kuril Islands (and related matters).
It’s a very symbiotic relationship, that which continues to form between the Russians and Chinamen. The Russians nod to the Chinamen for what they’re best at, and vice versa.
They have very, very complimentary skill sets, and combined the key geography.
Hi DJT
Replying to Bernard above, I had not read your post on Unit 731. I now realise you covered it before me so that is a good thing. It appears to be such a secret here that I have rarely found Australians even know about it, especially where the data from research ended up and also that “Shiro Ishii, as the chief of the unit, was granted war crime immunity from the US occupation authorities, because of his provision of human experimentation research materials to the US.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unit_731
Oooh, lots of things are ‘secret’ around these parts, George.
Personally, I’m very tired of the rubbish perpetuated around these parts.
Simple truth – this is the “Asian century’, and it is also the Russian century.
Both Tony Kevin, who has been ‘deplatformed’ in the mainstream, but not here, at P & I, and John Pilger, in recent days, have lauded the recent work of the great Pepe Escobar, on just how f***ed the ‘Western values’ crowd really are.
Pepe’s a ripper – formerly ‘promoted’ by an employer, the Guardian, now disregarded as a ‘Putin friendly’.
Thing is, Pepe just does what he’s always done – ‘analyises’.
The fact he’s well received in Beijing, Moscow, Tehran, Damascus, etc, is not a product of Pepe’s subjagation, but rather respect for his craft.
As recommendations from Tony Keven and John Pilger would suggest.
Yes I often read Pepe Escobar too, he is in contact with many good sources, often very insightful on the geopolitics, but of course anyone that appears on RT News can’t be trusted !
US also recruited for Fort Detrick from Germany. Excellent recent article touching on this, and more: https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v43/n03/mike-jay/lace-the-air-with-lsd
Mr Menadue, he is baiting us for use as a “cat’s paw”. I really hope that Canberra pays attention to what you are saying.
Indeed, he is, and it has much more to do with trade than the dummies in Quisling City in the ACT know.
It was China and Japan who kicked off negotiations that ultimately became the RCEP.
Once the RCEP was signed, China, Japan and South Korea formed a triumvirate to fast track implementation of the RCEP.
What’s the RCEP, about 40% of global GDP, now? Anywhere else growing GDP?
NikkeiAsia last week, on how China is now Japan’s largest trading partner, and how dependent the Japanese companies now are on China, particularly for reasonable returns on the mountains of investment they have made in China.
Just recently, China surpassed the US as Europe’s biggest trading partner. Do these dopes in Quisling City, and their attendant stenographers (like that bellicose imbecile, Hartcher), honestly think countries like Germany fancy some regional rubes endangering the returns on all the capital they have invested in China (and, with the German business, it’s an awful lot)?!?!
No large, multinational commercial enterprise will survive the next couple of decades, without access to China 2 key attractions – it’s 1.4 Billion ‘consumers’, and its ability to generate favourable returns on investment capital. Japan largely forgot what ROI meant by the early ’90’s, once the US made them the sponge for the US$
All the rest is just irrelevant noise – even US business, including Wall St banks, are starting to scream at Biden not to cleave the world economy into 2 camps. Why? Cos they know they have no hope of ‘winning’, even ‘calling it a draw’, if that cleaving happens.
BTW, for all the noise about Huawei’s troubles, coming about due to Trump, Huawei hardly missed a beat in 2020, even becoming the world’s largest maker and seller of smart phones.
Countries, like this one, that don’t have access to Huawei’s 5G technology (and, soon enough, 6G) will be left as communications’ rumps, backwaters.
Huawei is everywhere in the Philippines. The Philippines will have 5 G years before Australia. In fact the punchy kid from the Shire will lead Australia into becoming the new Philippines of the Pacific. The fleets in boys and we will be shining the boots of the marines.
And astonishing as it may sound, we actually have more islands than the Philippines, so the comparison is further emphasized.
I’m off to my standardised Tagalog class now.
George real Filipinos speak Cebuano.
Is that so? Oh well it is a country I know far less about that China other than the history.
Wikipedia failed me.
Cebuano or Bisaya is spoken in the south. Cebuano is the name of the people in the southern half of the country who speak Bisaya. Duterte is a Bisaya speaker and doesnt really speak Tagalog which is spoken by the Manila elites and the people of the north. Duterte to the delight of the long exploited people in the south speaks a mix of Bisaya and English. His speeches are full of Bisaya slang and village expressions. For the Sydney Morning Herald and ABC hacks who report his speeches, they get a Tagalog speaker to translate into English and the warped third hand misunderstanding mistranslates. For example, a very common Cebuano expression used often by Duterte is “Bilat ni Nanay”or”Mother’s Vagina”. The hacks report this as “Duterte insults women”. Cebuanos love his use of their long despised language.