The Howard government's reaffirmation of military ties to the United States more represents an ideological attack on mass antiwar sentiment than any great change in this country's "defence" policy.
Since the ANZUS treaty was signed on September 1, 1951, early in the Cold War, Australian and US governments have maintained close military links. But their war in Vietnam in the 1970s sparked a militant antiwar and disarmament movement which forced Australian governments in the 1970s and '80s to play down (but not break) their military relationship with the US. Unlike New Zealand in this period, Australia failed to ban nuclear warship visits, despite widespread public sentiment.
Now it seems that it's back to "all the way with LBJ" as the Coalition triumphantly upgrades ANZUS. According to defence minister Ian McLachlan and US secretary of defense William Perry, Australia and the US have a "model" relationship. Following a two-day meeting at the end of July, they announced a series of joint manoeuvres, the upgrading and 10-year lease extension of the US spy base at Pine Gap and more regular training of US marines in Australia. The government has also given in-principle agreement to a US relay ground station for its space-based ballistic missile early warning program.
Since the 1970s, Australia has played host to some 30 joint facilities. The bases form an essential component of the US's elaborate global electronic surveillance network. Pine Gap, the most important installation and one of the largest satellite ground control stations in the world, also has nuclear applications.
Under Howard's latest deal, some 17,000 US and 5000 Australian military personnel will take part in Tandem Thrust '97, the biggest joint exercise in 20 years and the US military's largest exercise in the Asia-Pacific. Joint exercises are being planned every two years.
The US is keen to establish a more stable military presence in the region after the "people's power revolution" in the Philippines forced the closure of its biggest military bases in Asia, and in the face of a large movement calling for the closure of US bases in Japan.
Australian business wants to keep the US military as the most powerful force in the Asia Pacific region to protect their common imperialist interests. US military power will be used against any popular revolution (as it was in Vietnam) and for "gunboat diplomacy" around economic and political disputes.
The"defence alliance" is a misnomer. Australia faces no military threat, and the alliance makes Australia more, not less, vulnerable by exposing us to the danger of catastrophic accidents involving the US nuclear-powered and -armed ships which visit our ports. The military bases are part of the US nuclear war fighting network, which is a threat to the security of people everywhere in the world.
On August 20, the defence budget, of roughly $10 billion, is likely to be immune from cuts while welfare, education, housing, health, child-care and public broadcasting face the axe. There's money for war exercises and expensive weapons, but not for urgent social needs.
How is it that Howard dares to do this? The antiwar movement has been seriously weakened after 13 years of conservative ALP government. At the height of the nuclear disarmament movement in the 1980s, its mostly ALP-tied leadership resisted placing demands on the ALP government to withdraw from ANZUS and close the US bases.
We should learn from the anti-bases movements in the Philippines and Japan. By fighting for a break in military ties with the US, we contribute to our own welfare and that of the whole region.