China mulls island military base off QLD coast

Via Domainfax:

China has approached Vanuatu about building a permanent military presence in the South Pacific in a globally significant move that could see the rising superpower sail warships on Australia’s doorstep.

Fairfax Media can reveal there have been preliminary discussions between the Chinese and Vanuatu governments about a military build-up in the island nation.

While no formal proposals have been put to Vanuatu’s government, senior security officials believe Beijing’s plans could culminate in a full military base. The prospect of a Chinese military outpost so close to Australia has been discussed at the highest levels in Canberra and Washington.

And Peter Hartcher:

On the global chessboard of power politics, the advent of a Chinese military base in the South Pacific would be the equivalent of Australia being placed in check.

If the government of Vanuatu were to agree to host a permanent base for an expanding Chinese military, “it would signal a pretty significant failure of Australia’s long-term security policy,” observes the head of ANU’s National Security College, Rory Medcalf.

Ever since Japan’s campaign in World War II, “it’s been an unspoken objective of Australian defence and foreign policy for 70 years to ensure that no other power could project force against Australia from the South Pacific,” he says.

It’s still too early in China’s development to see this as any serious military threat. But ‘gunboat diplomacy’ of this nature builds a whole new lever of moral suasion in politics, its primary purpose.

China has for a long time bribed South Pacific states to do its diplomatic bidding. It builds and lends then takes control of defaulting assets. Australia is already vulnerable to that as its own banks have created an external vulnerability that almost certainly leads back to Chinese savings via global market brokers.

What can we do? Short of direct confrontation, making a counter bid via foreign aid is the best option. But it’s being cut. Adding some more Marines to Darwin is another.

As well, we need to take urgent action at home to boost political integrity:

• value competitiveness and productivity to ensure as broad a mix as possible of exports and trade partners is sustained;
• use fiscal policy and sovereign wealth funds to lean heavily against Dutch Disease;
• holding immigration at historic levels to ensure a balanced geographic mix in people-to-people connections, policy integrity and lower household debt;
• police foreign buying of realty to ensure foreign powers do not gain leverage over household wealth;
• use monetary tools and tax reform to prevent excessive offshore borrowing that funds unproductive debt and is vulnerable to sudden reversal;
• use industry policy to promote manufacturing and energy independence;
• install codes of conduct at universities protecting free speech, and
• create anti-corruption watchdogs in all parliaments.

Or teach your kids Mandarin and obedience.