My Take | War cries from Down Under will merely threaten regional peace
- Leading news outlets are selling a false narrative that Australia will have to fight with US for its national security in conflict over Taiwan
Seeing how the US-led Iraq invasion ended the career of Tony Blair in infamy, British politicians have learned a lesson. If nothing else, self-preservation means avoiding going gung-ho, or “shoulder to shoulder”, with the American Empire as it prepares for war.
Sadly, Australia seems to have skipped that history class. A large segment of its political establishment is now happily cheering for war – with China. It won’t end well for anyone. Most ordinary Australians know that, but try telling that to their political elite who think they are too dumb to understand international politics and the danger China presents. In reality, they – the elite – are the real danger.
Former Australian prime minister Scott Morrison has exemplified this warmongering trend. If the current Labor government of Anthony Albanese and his Foreign Minister Penny Wong try to dial down the anti-Chinese vitriol, the Australian mainstream press makes sure to pour in more fuel. In a front page double feature reminiscent of wartime Anglo-American propaganda, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age splashed with a self-proclaimed “Red Alert”. They showcased the same quarter-page graphic of a crimson China with rows of fighter jets flying out and covering half the globe.
A panel of five national security experts was convened and concluded that Australia “faces the prospect of armed conflict in the Indo-Pacific within three years” but was not prepared for it. Note that they were not claiming that Australia would be attacked by China, but it must fight with the US in the event of a war over Taiwan.
Both publications are owned by Nine, the publicly listed parent corporation. Former Labor prime minister Paul Keating has issued a rebuttal. He wrote: “Today’s Sydney Morning Herald and Age front-page stories on Australia’s supposed war risk with China represents the most egregious and provocative news presentation of any newspaper I have witnessed in over 50 years of active public life.
“It is way worse than the illustrated sampans shown to be coming from China in the build-up to the war in Vietnam in the 1960s.”