AUKUS

News that the Trump administration is reviewing the AUKUS deal to ensure it is “aligned with the president’s ‘America first’ agenda” has reignited attacks on the plan.

The post Trump review another reason to dump AUKUS first appeared on Solidarity Online.

In its response to AUKUS with its objective of militarily confronting China in the South China Sea, we should not be surprised by Chinese naval vessels sailing around Australia to pick up some intelligence or at least showing us their growing naval power. For China, it would be a good training experience in new waters. Continue reading »

Justin Trudeau eloquently calls Trump’s tariffs a trade war. Miko Peled questions why the allies aren’t liberating the concentration camp that is Gaza, Jeffrey Sachs asks how many wars China has been in in the last 40 years. Peter Cronau lists our eclectic list of defence priorities. BREAKING: Justin Trudeau is specifically asked if he Continue reading »

The melodramatic media story about the small Chinese naval flotilla exercising with “live” ammunition off the Australian and New Zealand coasts has run solid for more than a week. I’m beginning to suspect the Chinese military may have a sense of humour. Here the political snafu, led by the ABC, has been fixated by the Continue reading »

Even those of us who feared the worst have been astounded by the Trump administration’s attack on the rule of law, democratic principles and even morality – not to mention America’s long-suffering allies, of course. As brain farts go, Donald Trump’s latest is a room-clearing stinker. “Cleaning out” the Palestinians from Gaza and turning it Continue reading »

Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek has released an EPBC Act ‘Impact Assessment Report’ (IAR) to address the environmental impacts of constructing nuclear submarines at Osborne, Port Adelaide. A deluge of documents — the 200-page IAR with 750 pages of appendices — have been released for “public consultation” running till 17 March. However, the IAR fails to Continue reading »

As a quick study in the psychology of Australia-US relations, last week had it all. There was the sound of cash registers ringing in Washington as Canberra handed over the first cheque for the US nuclear submarine production base. There was the self-aggrandisement of Richard Marles at the Pentagon, chuffed at being the first defence Continue reading »

February 7 saw the first AUKUS meeting held between officials of the Trump administration and their Australian servitors since the changing of the guard in the White House. In attendance was the US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and his unbearably compliant Australian counterpart Richard Marles. From all general appearances, the sense was that a change Continue reading »

Ilan Pappe witnessed his face on a target symbol on TV screens at the airport as he returned to Israel. Australia continues to tug on the “forlock of a fading hegemon”. The ABC calls citing international law antisemitic while Amnesty International calls on German authorities to stop the crackdown on freedom of speech. Ilan Pappe Continue reading »

The AUKUS agreement aims to increase US, UK and Australian submarine capability in the Indo Pacific and the deterrence impact they offer. The current plan will fail for four fundamental reasons. Between now and 2032 the US Navy will drop from 49 nuclear powered attack submarines (SSN) to 32-35; the US will not have sufficient Continue reading »