Australian Futures: Are Our Global Economic and Strategic Policies Consistent?

The AIM Network

9 months ago

By Denis Bright

NATO leaders met in Brussels to anticipate more policy confusion after the US Presidential elections on 5 November 2024. From ten major opinion polling institutes, the trendlines on oncomes are quite inconsistent and with wafer thin according to feedback from media monitoring by Microsoft Copilot to anticipate the election outcomes. This raises the possibility of continued tensions between the incoming president and the houses of congress.

Co-ordinated strategic commitment to Ukraine was the appeal to the world from the 75^th birthday function for NATO in anticipation of this US leadership instability extending into the late 2020s (NATO 4 April 2024):

Foreign Ministers concluded two days of talks in Brussels on Thursday (4 April 2024) with a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council, and another meeting with Indo-Pacific partners and the European Union. Thursday marked 75 years since NATO’s founding. Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed the landmark, saying: “since 1949, we have been the strongest and most successful Alliance in history.”

The foreign ministers in attendance at these NATO forums from thirty-two NATO states are generally representatives of conservative governments elected on preferences from far-right parties. The exceptions are largely Iceland, Malta, Norway and Denmark. Germany has a minority social democratic government which must seek accord with the Free Democrat to remain in office. Austria and Switzerland are not represented at the NATO forums because of their neutral status.

Australians might be comforted by our distance from the conflict zones between Russia and Ukraine. Closer to home, there is strategic pressure on Australia from military and intelligence units loyal to the traditional goals of the Five Eyes Network. This Network supports strategic jaunts to rattle Chinese defence installations near the Taiwan Strait and in the vicinity of Hainan on the fringes if the South China Sea.

It is difficult to understand just how our commercial relationships with China have been allowed to deteriorate over just a few years when Australia defence units participated in events with the Chinese PLA even after leadership of the federal LNP was seized by Scott Morrison on 24 August 2018 (Australian Department of Defence 9 October 2019):

Australian Army members have travelled to China to take part in the annual bilateral adventure training Exercise Pandaroo, which begins on Hainan Island today.
First held in 2015, Exercise Pandaroo is an example of the constructive military engagement undertaken as part of Australia’s defence relationship with China.

This annual exercise will see Australian Army personnel working alongside their Chinese counterparts during a series of adventure training activities.

Despite recent strategic problems with China, the latest edition of World Economic Situation and Prospects released by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs is cause for great optimism. Australia has a box seat so close to the world’s major growth economies across Asia and the Pacific (26 March 2024).

The healthy state of nearby regional economic relationships contrasts with stagnant levels of economic growth in developed economies from Europe to Britain and Japan. The current positive regional outlook contrasts with the market volatility associated with high interest rates, unacceptable levels of inflation and fluctuating levels of economic growth in the decade after the 1981 recession which defied the wisdom of policy-makers during the Hawke-Keating eras (1983-96).

To assist readers in consolidating the big picture of the mixed state of the global economy, readers might consider looking at Geopolitics and Geometry of Global Trade and Investment from the McKinsey Global Institute in New York (17 January 2024). The McKinsey Institute in New York has no affinity with the current round of megaphone diplomacy about making American Great Again.

The McKinsey brand of economic diplomacy has just brought a large delegation of US executives and academic leaders to China (South China Morning Post 28 March 2024). This follows a delegation from Australia organized by the International Trade Council (18 March 2024). Even delegations from Taiwan are being well received in China as reported by Nikkei (7 February 2024). From Taipei, President Biden’s commitment to strategic stability of the Taiwan Strait is a positive development (Taiwan Foreign Affairs 3 April 2024). Meanwhile, Taiwan has rejected offers of Chinese assistance with its earthquake relief during the recent natural disaster in Hualien (South China Post 3 April 2024).

Getting on top of the strategic barriers to our future trading and investment ties should be a talking point in the lead up to the Australian elections in 2025. Tentative moves for better commercial relations with China should be a plus for the Labor Government in winnable regional seats like Capricornia, Leichhardt, Flynn and Page.

Perhaps our naval brass should take ferries or fly with one of Taiwan’s own airlines if they are seeking carefree perspective on the Taiwan Strait. There are also slow ferries operating across the Taiwan Strait three times a week between terminals adjacent to Taichung in Taiwan and Pington Port near the Chinese City of Fuzhou. Direct flights are available from Taichung to Kinmen Island within Taiwan and adjacent to the City of Xiamin. From here there are ferries into Wu Tong Pier every thirty minutes. Passports are checked at the ferry terminals as the short ferry journey is an international transit.

Megaphone diplomacy did nothing to assist in the development of this improved cross-strait harmony.

Ferry services commenced operations between Taiwanese territories in Kinmen Island and the adjacent Chinese city of Xiamin in 1987.

Over 1.3 million Chinese citizens cross into Taiwanese territories on Kinmen Island according to Microsoft Copilot. Kinmen Island is a popular tourist spot with Chinese visitors for day trips and short holidays. Here the ruins of the old fortresses extended during the lengthy period of Japanese occupation of Taiwan between 1895 and the defeat of Imperial Japan in 1945 are no longer used for Cold War hostilities as in 1960.

If the situation is explained calmly, a different mainstream narrative will evolve in time. The Advance Australia Network has no commitment to this consensus-building. As Advance Australia is not a political party, it can campaign from the sidelines and by-pass spending caps on campaigning.

Microsoft Copilot offers the following profile of the Advance Australia network. These interpretations can be critically investigated by readers for accuracy in the absence of detailed mainstream reporting beyond the columns of The Guardian newspaper:

Donations and Funding:
High-Profile Backers:
- Maurice Newman, a businessperson, is one of the notable backers of Advance Australia.
- Sam Kennard, the managing director of Kennards Self Storage, has also supported the group.
- David Adler, the president of the Australian Jewish Association, is another influential figure associated with Advance Australia.

Australians live in a highly prosperous regional enclave that will be advanced by increases in the Chinese economic growth and the investment outreach of its Belt and Road Agendas. The negativity in election campaigning from Advance Australia does nothing to advance commitment to more strident national sovereignty compatible with enhanced and sustainable prosperity.

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Denis Bright (pictured) is a financial member of the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA). Denis is committed to consensus-building in these difficult times. Your feedback from readers advances the cause of citizens’ journalism. Full names are not required when making comments. However, a valid email must be submitted if you decide to hit the Replies Button.