Image: Collins Class submarine at sea (a rare occasion).
Music: Quiet of the Winter Moon by Jumping fences.
Analysis of Paul Keating's speech to the National Press Club on Australia's strategic framework. This includes audio of parts of Keatings address and the Q&A afterwards on 10 November 2021.
The reappearance last week of Paul Keating at the National Press Club after an absence of 26 years does demonstrate one thing, at least: that each new prime minister of Australia is worse than the one previous. Put it another way, Keating is streets ahead of Morrison. Keating correctly points out that Australia cannot go to war with China over Taiwan. It certainly cannot go into battle with the Chinese navy using American attack class nuclear submarines designed in Virginia in the 1990s. Keating should know, as PM he had his own disaster with the Collins class submarines. The Collins submarines hardly ever left the docks and hardly ever had sufficient trained personnel to put the entire fleet to sea (only 6 boats).
Those boats built by Keating and Admiral Kim Beazely (sic) are best retired to a children’s playground in some remote town for all the good they have done. Sending young people to sea in a long tube submerged for several months is pretty mad especially given the high death rate among submariners during World War II.
Keating is right to criticise the government’s hypocrisy over Kashmir. Australian government’s would rather sell coal and tertiary education to India than criticise that government’s appalling human rights record in the independent state of Kashmir. On that score India is nearly as bad as Israel’s occupation of Palestine.
But you never heard Keating criticise Israel not did he criticise Indonesia’s genocidal occupation of East Timor. Keating was the Minister for Northern development in the Whitlam government when it made its last mistaken office allowing Indonesia to invade East Timor in late 1975. That was Fraser’s first mistake to turn a blind eye to the killing of Timorese by the Indonesian military.
Ignoring Indonesia military abuses of human rights in East Timor, Keating put together a treaty with Suharto in 1995.
Keating was right to say that USA cannot control three oceans, Atlantic, Indian and Pacific. Especially when the Chinese economy is bigger and is growing at a faster rate the United States. However you never heard Keating criticise US imperialism morning to hearing criticise Henry Kissinger when he gave the Indonesian government the okay to invade East Timor. Keating even quoted Kissinger on China. But he left out that the US government had threatened war with China over the Taiwan Straits as long ago is 1958. The truth is United States has left its run too late. Keating is right, there will be no war over Taiwan. ... https://workersbushtelegraph.com.au/2021/11/14/keating-no-war-with-china/
Ian Curr
16 Nov 2021
