While elsewhere the China discourse in the Australian media may have been on geopolitical tensions and defence and security concerns, community leaders, students and academics from seven universities in Australia and 15 universities in China and Taiwan met in Parramatta on the campus of Western Sydney University a few days ago. (more…)
Tag: International relations
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What is really going on in Palestine
Foreign Minister Penny Wong was keen to remind Guardian readers that “Australia has not supplied any weapons or ammunition to Israel for at least the past five years”. Only, as the Albanese government was forced to clarify, that excludes components for the US F-35 combat aircraft that is used to bomb Gaza. Australia has made over four billion dollars to date from contributing to the global supply chain: a trade that has continued uninterrupted throughout the past year. (more…)
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October 7: One year later, are we any closer to truth?
07/10/2023 has assumed much of the gravitas and the horror of 09/11/2001. In the aftermath of each, the world has/had viewed the potential for international warfare with extreme trepidation and with good reason. (more…)
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The unsustainable costs of war
In a world of simultaneous military and environmental crises our capacity to finance both has become unsustainable. Globally, military expenditure over the past decade has been rising at double that of GDP, reaching an all-time high of $2.4 trillion in 2023. (more…)
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East Timor is not Palestine
Peter Job’s article in P&I, ‘Palestine – The Lessons of East Timor’, is an interesting foray into the link between international law and moral condemnation as offering a possible insight into the future of Palestine. As Job argues, one generally does need international law to be on one’s side if a just resolution is to be possible. (more…)
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Placing Russian mobile missile launchers on alert a dangerous game
Newsweek has recently (Oct 7) reported that Russian mobile nuclear missile launchers have been placed on combat alert. This could mean nothing – Russian mobile missile launchers do regularly go on patrol, both for scheduled alerts and for training purposes. However, the way in which the move has been telegraphed does suggest that Russia means to use them to intimidate the west and show resolve. (more…)
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Historic ICC war crimes complaint names 1,000 Israeli soldiers
“This complaint is not only the largest ever submitted to the ICC, but it is also a milestone in documenting Israeli war crimes for future generations.” (more…)
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“Acceptance” of Israel’s extreme brutality and “concern” at the slaughter of Palestinians are irreconcilable
Like most of the US allies, Australia is caught between a rock and a hard place. (more…)
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China unveiled: how moving East shattered my Western illusions
Moving to China has opened my eyes in a way I never expected. The stories I grew up hearing, the ones I accepted without much thought, started to unravel. One of the toughest things I’ve had to face is realising that the West, where I’ve spent most of my life, might not always be the “good guys” I thought they were. This was a hard pill to swallow. (more…)
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On election day, accountability takes centre stage
If the government and Opposition think they will not be held accountable, they should think again. (more…)
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Palestine – The lessons of East Timor
History teaches us that Palestine, as with East Timor, will be free. Writes Peter Job in Declassifed Australia.
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Albanese government’s refusal to publicly challenge Paris about decolonisation “shortsighted”
The Albanese government’s silence on decolonisation is striking—the prime minister and foreign minister never use the word! Last year, Australian commentator Graeme Dobell argued that “Labor has run a grimly realist foreign policy seeking a balance of power in the Indo-Pacific.” While collaboration with France may seem “realist” in this strategic framework, the refusal to publicly challenge Paris about its decolonisation obligations is shortsighted—as highlighted by four months of rioting and clashes in one of Australia’s closest neighbours. (more…)
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Lebanese and Palestinian lives mean nothing to Western politicians
The deaths of thousands of Palestinian and Lebanese civilians killed by Israel can be ignored, so too the misery of millions. Small wonder that protesters want to register disgust and despair.
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Chagossians ‘deplore’ deal allowing US-UK to keep Diego Garcia Air Base
“We remain powerless and voiceless in determining our own future and the future of our homeland,” one diaspora Chagossian said in response to the agreement. (more…)
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Israel’s ideology of genocide must be confronted and stopped
Israel’s violent extremists now in control of its government believe that Israel has the Biblical license, indeed a religious mandate, to destroy the Palestinian people. (more…)
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On nuclear weapons, how long will Australia continue to be out of step with its nearest neighbours?
Last week, Indonesia, our biggest and closest neighbour, deposited its instrument of ratification of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) at the UN. This was a major international and regional development, a good-news story with a very positive impact on international security, but we’ve heard virtually nothing about it from our government and very little in the media. (more…)
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Why I can’t celebrate the Jewish new year
I am a cultural Jew because I am an atheist. I cannot celebrate the Jewish New Year because of the continuing horror in Gaza, and now in Lebanon. (more…)
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The United Nations pact for the future: progress or pablum?
Within the UN, it is clear that member states need to find new or re-tooled diplomatic vehicles to advance progress on the broad disarmament agenda. (more…)
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Nasrallah is dead but Bibi hasn’t won
Many people now mourn Nasrallah’s death, in Lebanon and elsewhere, but Hezbollah’s existence is nowhere near in question. (more…)
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Will the QUAD go the same way as SEATO – another lame duck?
Almost the first thing Anthony Albanese did after becoming PM was to jump on a plane for a QUAD meeting in Tokyo. He was accompanied by Andrew Shearer, the head of the Office of National Intelligence. Ever since, Albanese has been in the grip of our intelligence services which have been effectively colonised by the CIA and other US agencies. Diplomacy has been put in the freezer. (more…)
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Australian politicians are playing NatCon politics
Peter Dutton’s campaign to make Palestinian refugees into figures of fear mirrors the provocations to the recent UK Islamophobic riots. These were inspired by politicians such as Nigel Farage as much as by far-right influencers. Both examples are connected to Donald Trump’s debate amplification of the far-right American lie that Haitian immigrants are eating the pets of people in Springfield, Ohio. (more…)
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Paging a new rogue state- state sponsored terrorism
Exploding pagers and two-way radios. What a brilliant act of ….. state-sponsored terrorism. Or a classic destruction of an adversary’s command and control communications ability. (more…)
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American exceptionalism versus Australian distinctiveness
The presidential election campaign that is underway in the US is full of hoopla, hysteria, loopy hats and fatuous slogans. It is somewhat gratifying, therefore, to note that, here, in Australia, we are above all that nonsense. But (one must ask) is our political system in Australia really that much better than in America? And are our political mindsets really more attuned to refined Aussie nuances? (more…)
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Pager slaughter in Lebanon, humanity of no consequence
Thousands of Lebanese citizens, injured or murdered by apparent Israeli planted explosives in pagers and other communications devices, are referred to as Hezbollah operatives, even though victims have included small children. (more…)
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The Albanese Government is isolating Australia and not serving the national interest by appeasing Israel
The United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution submitted by the State of Palestine demanding that “Israel brings to an end without delay its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, … no later than 12 months from the adoption of the present resolution” and that “Israel comply without delay with all its legal obligations under international law, including as stipulated by the International Court of Justice”. The resolution’s provisions are consistent with the UN Charter, international law, and the decision of the International Court of Justice. (more…)
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Melbourne weapons expo protests
I’m guessing that anyone who reads Pearls and Irritations knows that Land Forces, Australia’s largest weapons expo, was held in Melbourne from 11 to 13 September in the face of strong opposition. Given the blanket coverage, it’s likely the great majority of those in the city also knew this was happening, as well as a great many across the country. Going by the coverage by the likes of Al Jazeera and BBC, and feedback we’ve had from Mexico, Indonesia, Colombia, and more, it’s reached plenty of international audiences as well. The country’s largest weapons fair has been well and truly held up to the light. (more…)
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Jewish Council disappointed at Australia’s UN abstention, calls for strong international action to prevent Israeli war crimes
The Jewish Council of Australia says it is deeply disappointed at Australia’s abstention from a critical United Nations General Assembly resolution calling on Israel to end its occupation of the Palestinian territories within 12 months. The resolution passed with 124 votes in favour, highlighting global frustration with Israel’s actions. (more…)
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Trump’s quick deal with Putin could reshape the global order
Did anyone pay attention? If he wins, Donald Trump says he will bring about the cessation of hostilities in Ukraine between his election and inauguration, a period of about eleven weeks. In so doing, Trump might just destabilise the West and reshape the global order. (more…)
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Australia: a very fine example of the ultimate vassal state
Australia currently has a Labor-Coalition political class which is committed to serving the interests of the United States as its highest priority, and within that frame the most significant conflicts that exist internally between the main factions of that class, Labor and Liberal — party labels which bear no relationship to the meaning of “labour” and “liberal” — are centred on base competition for favoured status in Washington. (more…)
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A solution in Ukraine?
There must be a negotiated end to the Ukraine War. The alternative is nuclear armageddon. (more…)