Our Chinese Economic Overlords encroach militarily into the Solomons
Ummmmm, this is quite serious…
China to sign first Pacific security deal which will give them warships on Australia’s doorstep
China and Solomon Islands are set to sign off on a security deal that will see Chinese warships based in the Pacific and shift the balance of power in Australia’s region.
The agreement will give China the power to use its military to protect the safety of Chinese personnel and major projects in Solomon Islands and give Beijing a base for its navy less than 2000 kilometres off Australia’s coast.
The base would be the first time Australia has had a strategic adversary within striking distance of its coastline since World War II.
“China may, according to its own needs and with the consent of Solomon Islands, make ship visits to, carry out logistical replenishment in and have stopover and transition in the Solomon Islands,” the draft framework agreement states.
…this is our Economic Overlord encroaching directly into our Pacific neighbourhood with a military expansion and a surreptitious ‘security’ agreement that protects Chinese interests in the Solomon Islands.
The recent unrest there saw Chinese businesses burnt down by the locals who resent Chinese migration and political influence. By propping up the Government with ‘security’ offers and a Military base to protect those interests, China is stepping into our sphere of influence through insidious means masquerading as security.
It is a bold expansion to announce at a time of geopolitical instability aimed at testing America’s resolve.
None of this can be discussed in NZ because the Woke decry any mention of China in anything other than glowing terms as Xenophobic racism. Say something critical of China in NZ and it spawns a dozen columns on Stuff decrying anti-asian racism and hate for migrants etc etc etc.
But this move by China is a dangerous escalation and shows very clearly why it is a national security issue for NZ to decouple its economy from China has soon as fucking possible.
They are an authoritarian, mass surveillance State committing genocide and body organ harvesting for Christ’s sake, I don’t care how much fucking butter and wood they buy, we want to be very much at arms length here.
Likewise, we don’t want to be a stooge for the American Military Industrial complex either!
We need to chart an independent foreign affairs perspective that isn’t beholden to Beijing OR Washington!
With China flexing its military muscle and chequebook diplomacy again, NZ must reconsider its avenues for influence in the Pacific.
We should be looking at long term issues of climate change for the Islands, financial aid tied directly to core civil society assets, a Journalism school for the Pacific and Rugby diplomacy.
Auckland is the largest Pacific Island City and we do little to celebrate or leverage off that. We need to look at offering fundamental migration opportunities for Tuvalu, Tokelau and Kiribati who face the worst impacts of climate change but we also need to think outside the square in terms of not only countering Chinese influence but beating it.
I think two ways NZ could uniquely promote its interests into the Pacific against China could be via Rugby Diplomacy and Journalism.
The All Blacks doing a tour of the South Pacific would actually be of huge cultural and sporting importance and something the Government should sponsor with taxpayer dollars to help subsidise the costs to the All Blacks as a sign of respect to the sporting and cultural contribution Pacific Island nations have provided NZ.
Why shouldn’t we use Rugby as a diplomatic tool to build standing throughout the Pacific? It’s something China couldn’t match and something NZ could excel at.
Likewise Journalism. AUT run the excellent Pacific Media Centre to promote quality Journalism throughout the Pacific. What if NZ saw the promotion of quality Journalism as a craft throughout the Pacific as a strong way to counter corruption and Chinese influence? Scholarships, Pacific News Media websites, support of local ethical journalism these could be the pillars of promoting corruption free politics and holding those Governments to account.
Rugby diplomacy and promotion of Journalistic standards throughout the Pacific could counter China and promote NZs strategic interests.
We can’t outspend China, but we can play a far smarter game.
With China taking an aggressive approach to militarising bases in the Pacific, we need to start thinking that smarter game now.
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Perhaps the peoples of Kiribati, Tuvalu, and Kiribati should be invited to accede their territories to New Zealand, take New Zealand citizenship, and have a permanent offer of assisted settlement in New Zealand as the habitability of their islands declines.
Starting soon, by reviewing our Visa Overstayers policies for Pacificas, maybe.
That should read, “Starting soon, AND reviewing” etc
There is no independent foreign policy.
This situation is precisely why the anti American crowd are so wrong – the yanks aren’t perfect but they are the only team that can push back on a Chinese pacific takeover.
Watch New Zealand do nothing with its treasonably run down military as the Chinese fishing and “coastguard” fleets arrive to take the fish from the pacific, and now have a premise to militarily intervene to protect Chinese interests if anyone objects.
We need a watertight military alliance with the USA now and upscaled navy, Air Force and missiles.
A watertight military alliance with the USA? Good god. The USA is too busy collapsing!
you mean like the USA pushback in Russia?
Fish already taken m8
socialism with Chinese characteristics sounds o-KAY… until you realise it’s national socialism with Chinese characteristics, and you ain’t Chinese
Bradbury, I am not woke and am not so anti China as you.
Read this from Chomsky. Skip over the Ukraine and general war stuff to get to a description of Biden’s latest arrangements for the US empire in the Pacific rim.
https://braveneweurope.com/noam-chomsky-on-ukraine
This might prevent you talking such a load of bollocks. New Zealand needs to take a cautious approach to all its ‘friends’ and neighbours, especially Australia and the US.
Can’t remember ever seeing Chinese troops wage conventional war anywhere since 1945. I don’t even think they fought under their own colours in Korea. In stark contrast the proven greatest threat to world peace: the USA.
Yet, you know, Martyn is terrified.
Chinese invasion of Vietnam in 1979.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sino-Vietnamese_War
Thanks for the link Wilfrid. Have taken the liberty of doing a cut and paste so the salient section you highlight is easily accessed. CHILLING!!
“A few weeks ago, we discussed President Biden’s National Defense Authorization Act, as little known as the joint statement. This brilliant document — again quoting Michael Klare — calls for “an unbroken chain of U.S.-armed sentinel states — stretching from Japan and South Korea in the northern Pacific to Australia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Singapore in the south and India on China’s eastern flank” — meant to encircle China, including Taiwan, “ominously enough.”
We might ask how China feels about the fact that the U.S. Indo-Pacific command is now reported to be planning to enhance the encirclement, doubling its spending in fiscal year 2022, in part to develop “a network of precision-strike missiles along the so-called first island chain.
For defense, of course, so the Chinese [government has] no reason for concern.”
It is an infantile stance to advocate to the working class of any country that they should pick “their” imperialist power over another imperialist power.
By their deeds ye shall know them. US imperialism has rained havoc on millions of people throughout the 20th and 21st centuries and overthrown democratically elected Governments in several countries in the name of democracy! How many countries has China invaded, how many off shore military facilities does China have? Look it up war mongers, but the answer is very few indeed.
USA
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_military_bases
around 750, China about 5!
All imperialism is bad. Yes USA is the big bad grandaddy of it but that doesn’t negate fact that China and Rusdia are just as imperialist though their means to empire is more constrained. A pox on all their houses but a democratic capitalist world vs a totalitarian state-capitalist one? Hell yeah, I choose the side of USA/EU. Once Authoritarianism both left and right is consigned to dustbin of history, only then can we really fight for a Democratic Libertarian Socialist world. Too many Leftists currently still wedded to Stalinist/Maoist authoritarianism & a nostalgia driven worship of Russia/China and overweening blindness that only sees the evils of the west, ignores the good, sees Russia and China “standing up to” the West and is wilfully blind to the crimes of Russia and China.
Chinese are smart they use the $’s and soft loans rather than B52 Bombers
Bad news for the Pacific and peace.
We already have Russian threatening nuclear war if they don’t get their own way in invading Ukraine.
Woke have a lot to answer for. They will defiantly be pro internment camps as red guards denouncing everyone!
The biggest threat in the Pacific from the mid 20th century to now, is US imperialism and its 5 Eyes deputy dog Australia!
Are we like the Russians in this situation? Concerned about an potential adversary expanding into our neighbourhood.
China could easily follow Russia into taking back disputed territories and causing war – and with nuclear power it is an even bigger issue.
“Putin’s threat to use nuclear weapons over Ukraine is crazy. Is he a madman? Has he lost his mind over the last two years, isolated from his family due to COVID? It looks like it. And nuclear deterrence does not work with an irrational madman,” Simpson told Al Jazeera.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/3/3/how-realistic-is-vladimir-putins-nuclear-threat
It is pretty well known that people will kill everything around them, if they don’t get their own way – it is not uncommon – think of the man who kills their entire family in court custody battles every year, if they feel they are not winning, often in horrific circumstances.
It is about winning in their own minds and they don’t care who they take down with them.
With nuclear weapons and the rise of egotistical and ‘bought’ politicians who get away with everything, the world is in a bad place for destruction.
Now sure what happened to the nuclear agreements to end nuclear proliferation? The world seems closer to only one nuke away from a terrorist group, egotistical leader or coup.
Shelling nuclear power plants shows the human and environmental risk to the EU and neighbours by this type of power as they don’t just take themselves out when things go wrong.
It’s the new rules-based order. This a multipolar world now so together we build back better.
Basically agree with you. However, if a strong man with a big stick breaks in, he doesn’t care about the rules of the game at all, and he has the final say. Then it’s hard to convince him with football, because he says he can pass the ball backwards, and he can kill the opposing player. At this time, it may be time to find another strong man who also has a big stick to help.
Yep and USA is that man with the stick. It takes good men with sticks eg Ukranian Soldiers/Fighters to beat down the bad men with sticks who use their sticks to rape, pillage, invade, dominate eg Russia. Like it or not the civilian sheep need Sheep-Dogs to protect against Wolves.
Very concerning situation. Zero coincidence in this unfolding while the world is distracted elsewhere. Australia especially must be seeing red. When China inevitably invade Taiwan, Australia as part of Nato will join in the defence of Taiwan. Nek minute, Australia under Chinese attack from their own back yard.
Well Australia and NZ …and USA can support Malaitan independence or invite Malaitans to become a territory or protectorate of one of the countries and build a base there to watch the Chinese or just organize a coup against the Chinese puppet in Honiara. How ungrateful is Honiara after Australia/NZ saved them from the rebels of Guadalcanal and Malaita previously.
Yep and USA is that man with the stick. It takes good men with sticks eg Ukranian Soldiers/Fighters to beat down the bad men with sticks who use their sticks to rape, pillage, invade, dominate eg Russia. Like it or not the civilian sheep need Sheep-Dogs to protect against Wolves.
How does Uncle Sam’s arse taste Crimzon? you have certainly given it a good licking in this post!
Jacindas craven support of US stance imposing sanctions on Russia showed our true colours. Vassal state of a failing empire.
We are fortunate to only have what we produce, no oil, energy or vital minerals. Put simply why would anybody expend the cost of invading us?
Our problem is getting to friendly markets, regardless of who they are for the good we need, with the goods we have. That would imply being neutral. Only one problem there, freedom of navigation. Currently the US navy rules the seas.
Jacindas craven support of US stance imposing sanctions on Russia showed our true colours. Vassal state of a failing empire.
We are fortunate to only have what we produce, no oil, energy or vital minerals. Put simply why would anybody expend the cost of invading us?
Our problem is getting to friendly markets, regardless of who they are for the good we need, with the goods we have. That would imply being neutral. Only one problem there, freedom of navigation. Currently the US navy rules the seas.
Please hold camera in panoramic position moving forward, yall.