Showing posts with label US Secretary of State on Fiji. Show all posts
Showing posts with label US Secretary of State on Fiji. Show all posts

Saturday, November 12, 2011

America's Pacific Century Pivot - A Pirouette In The Potomac Two-Step?

Following up to an earlier SiFM post titled: "The Re-adjustment Bureau 2.0", illustrated the aspect of Australia's self appointed role in the Pacific region.



A recent Bloomberg article covered the efforts of Russia, Georgia and Abkhazia's respective diplomatic outreach to sovereign South Pacific island nations, a source of chagrin to Australia's Pacific Parliamentary Secretary, Richard Marles, who exclaimed "What this boils down to is Russia taking advantage of very small, pretty vulnerable countries to pursue agendas which have very little to do with the Pacific".

One could much ask Richard Marles the same question, with regards to the reports of US marines that have been sanctioned for garrison in the Northern Territory of Australia, much to the displeasure of many Australians.


China is not a threat but US policy may well be
November 12, 2011

LETTERS
US Marines, perform a formal raising and lowering of the flag.

Lest more die ...US marines at the US embassy in Canberra. Photo: Marina Neil

Is it time to rethink the terms of our insurance policy with the US (''US Marine base for Darwin'', November 11)? Participating in US invasions of a number of countries in the past 50 years has not increased our security or won us friends. Allowing the setting up of an American base in Darwin aimed at China is putting at risk our future prosperity and friendship with that country. In the long term China is far more important to us economically than the US, a country which is now suffering the dire effects of its continuous commitments to overseas wars.

Increasing the number of American bases on Australian soil on the basis of a possible Chinese invasion seems to be driven by a totally wrong-headed fear.

In its entire history, China, unlike the US, has never launched attacks on far-away countries. They have rarely gone to war. Rather they have been carved up and suffered incursions by foreign powers. No wonder they feel they need a stronger army. China has more sense than to waste its national wealth on military excursions. Blind Freddy can see what war does to an economy.

Ironically China is inadvertently supporting the US war effort by propping up the ailing US economy with loans. China has no need to go to war as they have no problem extending their ownership of foreign resources by simply buying them in the market place.

Do we continue to participate in US wars, or do we concentrate on becoming a successful independent country, a country which has the capacity to develop a peace-loving culture based on higher values.

Curtis Levy Birchgrove


Troops in Darwin bad for stability

Not satisfied with Australian troops fighting and dying in US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and before that Vietnam, and having US spy bases on our shores making Australia a target for America's enemies, the US now wants to permanently base its troops in Darwin.

It may have escaped the notice of some in Washington that Australia is not yet a US state. This is a proposition that can only make our region less stable by heightening tensions with China, our major trading partner. For whose benefit? Not Australia's.

Paul Pearce Bronte

Hey, Mr Obama and Ms Gillard, please let us finish the present wars if we can, before we start the next one.

Richard Manuell Frenchs Forest

If Peter Garrett was the defence minister would US forces be given the nod?

Allan Gibson Cherrybrook

Remembrance Day was tarnished by the announcement that US marines are to be based in Darwin.

The government continues to slavishly support the US, by sending troops to the unwinnable war in Afghanistan, opposing Palestine becoming a member of the UN and UNESCO, and now sending a very unfriendly message to our Asia-Pacific neighbours by supporting this increased US military presence.

Michael Fox Pacific Palms

What an announcement on Armistice Day. Will it stop the boats?

Barry Hartshorn Wahroonga

We are in Afghanistan for one reason only and that is the American alliance. This is also why we went into Vietnam and Iraq, and has nothing to do with Afghanistan. If we want the US to help us in our hour of need, we must maintain a profile as a loyal ally deserving of protection. Both the government and the opposition support this approach.

Whether or not you agree with this policy, it is a serious one which should be argued on its merits instead of being obfuscated by pious rhetoric about bringing freedom and democracy to Afghanistan.

As with any other insurance policy, premiums must be paid regularly so we will follow the Americans into future ventures when they ask us to join them.

Cavan Hogue Umina Beach

Ask the people of Okinawa and other parts of Japan, and of any other Pacific country forced to put up with US troops, about their experience before we agree to accept any marines onto our soil (especially without a similar Aussie base being established on US mainland soil).

They will tell you about the arrogance, then about the prostitution and sleaze, and about the rape of civilian women and girls, and more.

Militarily, we do not need the US anywhere near our country. It attracts danger to us, rather than deter it.

Have some sense, please and allow us our national integrity.

Go home, US military.

Jim Kable Caves Beach

Will American marines based in Australia be subject to Australian laws or will they demand immunity from prosecution for all crimes, including rape and murder, as they have in other countries that they occupy?

John Weiley Broken Head

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/national/letters/china-is-not-a-threat-but-us-policy-may-well-be-20111111-1nc0k.html#ixzz1dUcrIxtS

The hardworking folk at the 'foggy bottom' are extensively
building on these existing color coordinated themes- as if perfecting a tricky and death defying dance maneuver with multiple diplomatic partners; the aims of re-calibrating, re-hashing and re-iterating the talking points of the "Pacific century", "pivots" in foreign policy which the U.S Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had broadly outlined in her essay published in Novembers issue of Foreign Policy and subsequently expanded on her Nov. 10th 2011 speech at East-West center, the eve of the Asia Pacific Cooperation (APEC) summit, held in Honolulu, Hawaii.

It remains to be seen whether this episode of 'dancing with the stars' actually heralds in any concrete and promising results.

(Video of East-West speech posted below)







A columnist  in Strategic Culture online journal portrayed the current and unfolding APEC summit as 'power play'.

The full excerpt of the article:
Asia-Pacific: New Theatre of Power Play
Aurobinda MAHAPATRA (India) | 12.11.2011 | 08:18

The 19th Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in the Hawaiian island of Oahu will certainly throw up new challenges as well as opportunities.

Aurobinda Mahapatra: Strategic Culture Columnist

"The contours of the emerging power play in Asia Pacific will be mainly threefold: trade, strategic alliances and clashes over the values governing nation states… Among the three, the urgent attention will be given to trade [...]
With the shifting of power centre from west to east, the coming years will also witness shifting of strategies and alliances. In this emerging matrix, besides the US, the other global players like Russia, India and China have to play greater roles towards maintaining the balance of power in the Asia-Pacific region.
"

The global theatre of power play will shift to the region stretching from the land linking Indian subcontinent to the Pacific rim countries including the Americas with diverse economic potentials, political set ups and strategic ambitions. The US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s speech at East-West Center in Hawaii, on 10 November 2011, on the eve of the APEC summit serves a prelude to the forthcoming US strategies in the region, which will most likely be received with caution by other countries like India, Russia and China, as there are prospects of clash of interests among the members of the grouping and among other players in the region.

Hilary Clinton defined in very clear terms delineated the rising US interests in the Asia-Pacific region. She called the Asia-Pacific as the ‘pivot point’ and “the world’s strategic and economic centre of gravity will be the Asia-Pacific.” She pointed out, “One of the most important tasks of American statecraft over the next decade will be to lock in a substantially increased investment — diplomatic, economic, strategic, and otherwise — in this region.” She further argued, the US has mostly come out of the burdens imposed on its exchequer by the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. The international security assistance force is scheduled to withdraw from Afghanistan within a few years. This leaves, as Clinton reasoned, the US enough leeway and resources to divert from these areas towards Asia-Pacific, which has not been drastically affected by ongoing global churning, caused by financial crises as clearly visible in Europe. The US will be interested to forge new partnership in this region towards strengthening its economy.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership with having few members of the region such as Chile, New Zealand, Brunei and Singapore will likely be further strengthened by the joining of the US, Australia, Malaysia, Vietnam and Peru. During a visit to Tokyo last year in November, President Obama clearly delineated the US approach towards this power hub, and emphasized that his role as ‘the US’ first Pacific President’ will be multi-vectored in coming months. He declared, “The fortunes of America and the Asia-Pacific have become more closely linked than ever.” The last year has witnessed whirlwind tour of the US diplomats and leaders to this region, with the visits of President Obama, Hilary Clinton, and Secretary of Defence Leon Panetta. This time as well Clinton’s visit will cover a wide array of countries with vast and diverse political set ups in the region such as Thailand, Philippines and Indonesia, the last one hosting East Asian summit later this month.

The contours of the emerging power play in Asia Pacific will be mainly threefold: trade, strategic alliances and clashes over the values governing nation states… Among the three, the urgent attention will be given to trade. As the global scenario witnessing scattering of old economic and power centres, with the shifting of economic base towards Asia Pacific, increasing attention will be given to this emerging region, which accounts for world’s 44 per cent of world trade, 40 per cent of global population and about 54 per cent of global Gross Domestic Product. The economic growth of the countries in the region has accounted for 70 per cent of global growth in the past decade. While the Euro zone and also the US are grappling with the financial crises, the Asia Pacific region has witnessed steady growth in all these years. Starting from China down to the countries of Australia, New Zealand, or other countries of southeast Asia like Singapore, and even the countries of South America such as Peru, and other countries of this region as well have not suffered as other parts of the globe particularly in Europe or the US. Hence, in the field of trade, the US objective will be to brace up its relations with the regional countries.
This summit will likely witness the strengthening of Trans-Pacific Partnership, with the US in the lead. The US trade objectives may clash with that of China, which has recently raised its tirade against the trade policies of the US. The Chinese official daily Xinhua of 11 November 2001 while analyzing the positives and negatives of the APEC summit urged the US to withdraw its protectionist policies. It quoted Assistant Commerce Minister Yu Jianhua who said, “China hopes the meeting will further promote the liberalization and facilitation of trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific region, push forward economic and technology cooperation, oppose trade protectionism.” The US on the other hand has harped on the point that China must appreciate its currency Yuan in order to have fair trade. The emerging trade matrix will likely see increasing tussle between the US and China in the region.

Another important component of this emerging power play is forging or shaping of alliances. The region is full of diversities, with different powers having different strategic objectives. There are numerous fault lines among the players in the region. China has differences with India on issues of border as well as sea dealings. Few months back China sent an official protest to India in order to not to enter into negotiations with Vietnam to explore energy resources in South China Sea. Similarly, China has differences with other South China Sea littoral countries. India has also evinced a keen interest to play a significant role in the region. This month, Asia Young Leaders Summit is being held in New Delhi, where members from 30 countries of Asia-Pacific region will congregate. While India enjoys good relations with Russia, which in turn has good relations with China, it will be interesting to see how the emerging aspirations of the US will influence these alliances.
The regional alliances like Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), Ganga-Mekong Cooperation Project (GMC), Bangladesh India Myanmar Sri Lanka Thailand Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) will unlikely remain untouched by the emerging power engagements in this region. Hence, when Clinton during her speech talked about the US interests in the region that spans from ‘the Indian subcontinent to western shores of the Americas,’ it is rather the assertion of emerging US approach in the region. The US has currently about 50,000 troops stationed in Japan and South Korea. There are various contentious issues in the region, ranging from South China Sea to North Korea and many others. China’s insistence on its ‘pacific rise,’ and its policy of ‘harmony and reconciliation,’ will have to go through increasing contestation and rising or breaking or moulding of alliances in the region.

However, the sore point in the emerging matrix will be interrogation of values practiced by nation states. Clinton during her speech said, “We have made very clear our serious concerns about China’s record on human rights.” The whole Asia Pacific region has sheltered different kinds of regimes, with having different kinds of political set ups, which will come under increasing questioning by the US and its allies in coming days. The countries like China, the second largest economy in the world, which has expressed its policy of ‘peaceful rise’ will likely take these statements and policies as unnecessary interference in their internal affairs, while the US will likely use this as a point for drumming support to strengthen and fulfill its objectives in the region. The point that needs emphasis is that the region that is so vast, so diverse, there will be bound to be subtleties in policies and diplomatic maneuvers to reshape the emerging contours of power balance in the region.

With the shifting of power centre from west to east, the coming years will also witness shifting of strategies and alliances. In this emerging matrix, besides the US, the other global players like Russia, India and China have to play greater roles towards maintaining the balance of power in the Asia-Pacific region.


Saturday, April 25, 2009

The Samoan Disconnect- Ripples From Fiji.

In a follow up to an SiFM post on the US House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing, Cafe Pacific latest post addresses the same comments made by American Samoan Congressman, regarding Fiji's political situation.

Cafe Pacific also highlighted the reactions of Western Samoa's Prime Minister to the Congressman's remarks.

Perhaps [Faleomavaega] has forgotten that Fiji has been independent since 1970 and its Legislature, Judiciary and the Executive branches of Government have been functioning until the military started to meddle with the affairs of government – a responsibility it was least capable of performing…

The good congressman completely ignores the fact that the regime in Fiji is a military dictatorship. And that Bainimarama’s regime has been engaging in a ruthless crackdown on dissenting public opinion and complete suppression of the media. Is not freedom of speech, freedom of the media and engaging in free and fair elections hallmarks of American democracy?
Recently, the Samoan Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi's juvenile remarks on Fiji, has been quoted by several media outlets.

Matangi Tonga (MT)article
cites from Samoan newspaper Savali. The excerpt of M.T article:



Samoa's PM takes jab at Fiji's Bainimarama
23 Apr 2009, 08:30


Apia, Samoa:

Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi has a peculiar take on the recent turn of political events in Fiji.



This is how Tuilaepa, who delights in pricking bubbles, describes last week's events,

"It's like a puppet show and Frank (Bainimarama) is the puppet master - a ventriloquist. And among his slew of dummies and dancing string clowns is his favourite hand puppet named Iloilo.

"

Part of last Thursday's act, Frank asks his favourite hand puppet 'And who do you think should be Prime Minister Iloilo?'. Iloilo shouts back, 'Why of course it's you Frank."

Prime Minister Tuilaepa giggles.

"But one day soon the puppets will grow a brain and see Frank for the evil puppeteer he really is. It is then the curtains will fall on Frank."

He adds.

"The whole thing is a political charade and the whole world is watching. Nobody is fooled and no one is laughing. Frank is only fooling himself."

"It's a political stick-up and Frank has all the guns."



Asked what advice he'd give Commodore Bainimarama if he had a chance to sit down with him, Tuilaepa smiles.

"I'd tell him to go back to his barracks. Go back to what he knows best - which is throwing salutes, beating drums and organizing marching parades. He has no business in government. He knows nothing about civilian government. Go put back on his military uniform or . . . maybe, he'd look better in a prison uniform." Tuilaepa chuckles.



The three arms of State, the Prime Minister says, are no longer in existence in Fiji.

"There's no Parliament, there's no Executive and thanks to Iloilo there's no more Judiciary, no law and order. He's also abrogated the Constitution.

"Now my question is, who the heck is he to abrogate the Constitution?

The Constitution is the supreme law of the land and the only place it can be amended, repealed or abrogated is Parliament where you have the elected representatives of the people.

"The Commodore should get over his greed for power and really sit and think. Is this the road he wants to take his country? Because his actions do not augur well for the future generations of Fiji ."



Prime Minister Tuilaepa believes the only way to return Fiji to democracy and "some state of political sanity" is through the actions of the people of Fiji .

"

The reality is, Bainimarama will try to hold on to power with whatever means necessary. Just when you thought he can't go any lower, the bottom drops.

"The people of Fiji � the men women and children, young and old - will have to stand up and demand a return of their government.

Pound the streets in protest marches if they have to. The Church leaders and traditional leaders of Fiji should also come out of their shells and lead the people.

"It has worked in Thailand, it has worked in the Philippines , Vietnam and Indonesia . And if the Fijian people want it bad enough, peaceful and passive resistance will work in Fiji . That is how Samoa gained political independence and that's how the people of Fiji will finally be free of Bainimarama's stranglehold on power.

"It's the only way you can rid yourself of such cheap idiotic dictators."


Samoa government's newspaper Savali, 21/04/09
.
Samoan P.M's comments on Fiji were also published by Samoan news article. What was interesting was the reader's reactions to their Prime Minister's outrageous diplomatic accumen.

MIA wrote:
22 Apr 2009 11:31 AM
Such a hypocrite...He will see the consequences of this ridiculous road switch that will take affect this year. I think the people of samoa need to come out of their shells and run him out of office.

Samoan in Samoa wrote:
22 Apr 2009 10:12 AM
you people don't know anything about Samoa..for every one person who opposes the switch there are probably 50 others who support it..you forget that there are are 140,000 (western) samoans in New Zealand and another 50,000 in Australia..don't be fooled by the media or the vocal few who oppose the switch..many of those who have been gifted or bought RHDs from those two countries are first time car owners, in what has for years been an industry, dominated by afakasi and Apia-based car merchants who've been ripping off local folks with overpriced crap American cars..Stui has always been a manm for the little people, and in this case again, is right on the money..he is certainly the best leader samoa ever had and is definitely heads and shoulders over his counterparts in the region..so please don't talk about things you don't know nor understand..

stau wrote:
22 Apr 2009 10:09 AM
'aua le fai fua i tagata o fiti, ae vaai ifo oe ma si au fo'i amio lena e fai i tagata o Samoa.....vaai le upu masani....'aua e te 'eu fua le utupoto o le mata o leisi tagata...'eu muamua le utupoto i lou lava mata....aua o le mea foi lena e tatau ona fai e tagata samoa ia te oe ali'i PM

Anonymous wrote:
21 Apr 2009 03:18 PM
It's very encouraging to know that the PM understands the democratic process in Fiji. How about Samoa Mr. PM? It seems like our people in Samoa don't have any say so.....JUST LIKE FIJI.

Mike wrote:
21 Apr 2009 03:17 PM
A week or so ago I heard a report on the radio that Fiji's very own Frankie-boy was upset that Samoa's PM, whose last name of Malielegaoi can be interpreted as 'watch out (for) the thief', was upset because 'watch out (for) the thief' had said that Frankie-boy should learn from Samoa's example.

Now many people would take that to mean that Samoa has a democracy that Fiji would do well to follow, but what 'watch out (for) the thief' really meant was that he had been able taken over an entire country and was now himself dictator and chief thief without needing any silly army or threatening anyone with guns, and that Frankie-boy, if he was really so smart, would learn how to do the same!

Tama Samoa Moni wrote:
21 Apr 2009 01:45 PM
While I appreciate PM's concern for the future of the people and government of Fiji, he has to look at his front and back yard to see that he is a hypocrite. There are so many cases including one that is shared by Anonymous concerning the right hand steering issue.

It was debated fairly and there were mass opposition to this ridiculous wish from the PM, yet, he continued to stand his ground, disregard the will of the people, and now everyone has to make a 360 degree turn just to satisfy the satiating and ridiculous wish of one PM, who by the way controls the Parliament, so in essence what he says is really what the party in power will do. Look within thyself first PM Tuilaepa before you poke much about the situation in Fiji.

Having said that, I believe that the situation in Fiji is pathetic and Banirama should be removed before that island nation drops flat to the ground with a Idi Amin approach of governance. I'm sure the people of Fiji are just in fear because he has all the arsenal to squash any uprising, even if it's peaceful.

Anonymous wrote:
21 Apr 2009 08:29 AM
A year ago, I saw this statement from above Polynesian airline, when the people of Samoa protested the right hand steering wheel for all vehicles in Samoa and changing the driving lanes. It was a scene that the people spoke of concern but the law makers did not listen even when the people march all the way to mulinu’u and protested outside the maota fono. Mr. Prime Minister, the people of Samoa spoke but you failed, you are not qualified to tell the people of Fiji how to deal with the issue when your own people “Samoa” cried out to you.

Another Samoan newspaper "The Samoan Observer" conducted an online survey, questioning their readers if they agreed with Tuilaepa comments about Frank Bainimarama. The results were 61% against the comments made by the Samoan Prime Minister.

Samoa's Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi should be well advised to concentrate on his own political problems; and considering the remarks from Samoan readers, it appears that Malielegaoi's own popularity is increasingly dwindling partly due to his decade long tenure at the helm.

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