Rakesh Ahuja @DwnlodingMyMind · Jul 19

AUKUS and Shades of Colonialism
1. The US review of the #AUKUS agreement is expected to impose two key expectations on Australia: a significant increase in its defence spending and a commitment to deploy AUKUS nuclear-powered submarines in support of any US-led conflict.
2. The first demand would primarily benefit the US, as increased Australian defence spending would likely flow to the American military-industrial complex. This mirrors the US-NATO/EU agreement whereby the US sells arms to them, which are then transferred to Ukraine, blatantly allowing the US to profit while claiming minimal direct involvement.
3. The second demand is more insidious. It would seed the gradual undermining of Australian sovereignty, going beyond the 1951 ANZUS treaty, which only requires consultation in times of shared conflict. The US would be seeking, in effect, a pre-emptive commitment from Australia to support any US-led conflict, likely targeting China, Australia’s largest trading partner and a cornerstone of its economy.
4. This set of demands echoes the #Colonial practice in #BritishIndia. From 1857 on, when the Indian Mutiny was put down, the Imperial command was that wherever Indians served in the defence (or enlargement) of the Empire, the expenses must be met by Indian revenues alone. In effect, given the ubiquity of Indians in its army for menial services and as frontline fodder, the colonial Indian Treasury funded England’s wars.
5. In 1926, the newly appointed Viceroy of India, Lord Irwin, announced the establishment of a “Royal Indian Navy”. Its objectives, he said, would be to serve the British Empire’s needs, funded entirely by Indian revenues. The US demands, if made, would echo this colonial dynamic, treating Australia as a junior, rather than a sovereign, partner.
6. (Incidentally, as Foreign Secretary in the late 1930s, Irwin was closely associated with Chamberlain’s policy of appeasement towards Hitler.) @SenatorWong @AusHCIndia @RnaudBertrand @Chellaney @MohanCRaja #auspol #AustralianForeignPolicy