Thursday, September 30, 2021

The Hifalutin Kerbau of Anglo-Saxon nations and their bloody hands of the past





by Lim Teck Ghee

COMMENT | Tucked away in the inner pages of the mainstream western media covering the furore over the Australia-UK-US (Aukus) trilateral nuclear submarine deal recently was a report on the response from Indonesia.

Among Asean countries, Indonesia had been the quickest to respond, with its Foreign Ministry noting that “Indonesia is deeply concerned over the continuing arms race and power projection in the region”.

This concern is with good reason. Geographically and strategically, the country is the quintessential Indo-Pacific country.

With a population of 270 million scattered over 17,000 islands straddling the Indian and Pacific Oceans and the South China Sea, it has the most to worry about and lose from any change to the military and security status quo, in particular, any brought about by foreign nations that have little or no legitimate place in the region.

It is not only the timing and manner of the announcement which treated Malaysia, Indonesia and the other countries in the Indo-Pacific as an afterthought to be informed very late in the day - after Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s announcement to his country folk and the rest of the world regarding the procurement of nuclear submarines that has caused discomfort and alarm.

It is also the establishment of a new Anglo-centric military pact in the region with the clear intention to encircle, contain and weaken China. The dangers from this new phase of an ideological cold war that also has strong racial undertones are both in the intended and unintended consequences.

Indonesian concerns

Muhadi Sugiono, a campaigner for the Nobel Peace Prize-winning International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), expressed it clearly:

“Although the Australian government insists that the submarine is not nuclear-armed, this decision has clearly sent the wrong message at the wrong time. The possession of these nuclear submarines and the presence of a military nuclear reactor being built in Adelaide indicate the increasing nuclearisation of Australian military forces and the potential for nuclear weapons proliferation in Australia.”

Another Indonesian opinion leader, Mutti Anggita, lead analyst at the Laboratorium 2045 think tank, has pointed to other ripple effects:

“The presence of nuclear submarines in Australia puts Australia, its neighbours and the Asia-Pacific region at risk of becoming a nuclear accident site, whose impact can be as devastating as the impact of a nuclear weapon explosion.”

She omitted to mention that any explosion by accident or design in the seas or lands of our region, set off by or associated with prowling submarines, will kill off life for many generations to come.



West's record on peace and security in the Asia Pacific


There is another important reason why Southeast Asians should beware of the sales talk by Western big brothers promising peace whilst adding substantially to the risk of a war that can end everything.

Those of us with longer memories will never forget how our three Western nations ‘eternal’ friends, together with France and other Western colonial powers as well as Japan with its heinous past, have imposed themselves in this part of the world.

Indonesians, in particular, will recall the role that the three countries of Aukus played in the political disturbance and tragedy of the Sept 30, 1965, coup which led to the blackest period in Indonesian history.

Estimates of the innocent people who died range from a figure of 500,000 to one million arrived at by independent experts, with higher estimates of as many as two million casualties. In addition, 600,000 to 750,000 people were imprisoned in the aftermath for periods of between one and 30 years.

Roles of US, UK and Australia in Sept 30 genocide

The three nations of Aukus set up today to ‘maintain peace and security’ in our region were identified as playing a key role in fomenting and abetting the mass killings in Indonesia.

According to the International People's Tribunal on 1965 Crimes Against Humanity in Indonesia held in November 2015 and presided over by seven international judges, the massacres "intended to annihilate a section of the population and could be categorised as genocide”.

Chief Judge Zak Yacoob stated that "the United States of America, the United Kingdom and Australia were all complicit to differing degrees in the commission of these crimes against humanity".

Although Australia's foreign affairs ministry rejected the tribunal's conclusion and denied that the country was in any way complicit in the killings, independent studies, including from Australia, have shown that the Australian Government played a larger role than is commonly known or acknowledged.

Performative politics and demonising strategies

Today, as the Aukus nations preach their performative support for peace, freedom and human rights in the Indo-Pacific region, they have a long history of falsehoods, lies and bloodied hands to account for; as well as the true intentions of the new military pact to divulge.

In opening remarks to a conference to mark the 50th anniversary of Sept 30 held at the Australian National University in 2016, Gareth Evans, professor emeritus of the International Crisis Group, the Brussels-based independent global conflict prevention and resolution organisation, described the September coup as “a case study in the politics of mass murder – what you can get away with when you characterise and demonise opponents in a particular way, achieving ends which are conceivably defensible by means which are morally atrocious”.

These words should not only serve as a reminder to Indo-Pacific countries to oppose any attempt to be drawn into an ideological war that draws upon racist and fear-mongering sentiments.

We in Asean should also reject being used as proxies by the West’s political leaders seeking to make use of our region in the imposition of their own hegemonic designs and opportunistic version of rights, wrongs and rules.


LIM TECK GHEE is the author of Challenging Malaysia’s Status Quo


12 comments:

  1. Lim Teck Ghee totally avoids any mention of missile-armed artificial islands built in the South China Sea, is if it were Kryptonite.

    And no mention of the foreign power's warships interfering with Malaysian-appointed oil exploration ships operating in Malaysia's EEZ.

    Lim Teck Ghee has exposed himself as a Kangkung "analyst" with a totally lopsided view of the issue.

    Even my 17-year old understands there is more than one side to this issue.

    Podah to the Kangkung Analyst.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Indeed, podah to the Kangkung Analyst who keeps upstaging its know nothingness to defend its idol!

      Mfer, if the Oz is doing whatsoever nuclear farts on its own. Believe me, no one, absolutely no one, would give a leak of any foul gaseous!

      Hopefully yr 17yr old ain't like a pertinacious dickhead like u in holding on to everything demoNcratic r gospel!

      Ditto with yr recalcitrant claim of infringing on the 'm'sia EEZ' on a disputed territory!

      Delete
  2. This is rubbish. If we want to stop nuklear arms race start with 5,000 yo Bullyland and Rocket Man. They are armed to the teeth with nuklear warheads. Why start with Oz, who have none and have no plans to acquire them?

    With AUKUS, Oz is not getting any nuklear weapons. And having nuklear reactors does not mean you have nuklear boms. If that was the case then ask 5,000 yo Bullyland to shut down it’s 47 nuclear plants and stop the construction of 11 more that is going on today.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Blurred mfer, what happened to the NPT that the Oz signed?

      Ditto with the Rarotonga treaty!

      What do u called a mfer, who agrees upfront then turns around & do something totally contradictory to what it has agreed to earlier?

      Ooop… another blurred mfer leapingvout from that fart filled well, YES?

      Delete
    2. Oz is not getting any nuklear weapons. Just nuklear reactors to power their subs. Same as building nuklear plants to generate electricity is not proliferating nuklear weapons. If that was so then 5000yo Bullyland oredy has 46 nuklear plants and is building 11 more - nobody complain?

      Delete
    3. Wakakakakakaka…

      First, go & search why the pommie/Yankee nuclear subs use high concentrate weapon grade uranium as feeders in their nuclear subs' reactor!

      Only then, u fart!

      Nuclear power plants DON'T need weapon grade uranium as fuel feeders.

      Just in case u don't known - nobody is objecting to Iran's nuclear project iff low grade uranium is used!

      Truly know-nothingness in parade AGAIN.

      Delete
  3. QUOTE
    New Chinese Missile Silo Fields Discovered
    ARMS CONTROL TODAY
    September 2021
    By Shannon Bugos and Julia Masterson

    China is constructing at least 250 new long-range missile silos at as many as three locations, fueling concerns that it aims to substantially expand its nuclear weapons arsenal. Beijing’s rapid nuclear buildup, recently revealed through open-source intelligence analysis, could significantly impact the Biden administration’s Nuclear Posture Review and arms control and strategic stability talks between the United States and Russia.

    Yumen in northwestern China is among three locations where the Beijing government is constructing at least 250 new long-range missile silos. (Image: Planet Labs Inc. / Analysis: MIIS James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies)Yumen in northwestern China is among three locations where the Beijing government is constructing at least 250 new long-range missile silos. (Image: Planet Labs Inc. / Analysis: MIIS James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies)U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed his concern with the “rapid growth” of China’s nuclear arsenal at an Aug. 6 meeting of foreign ministers at the ASEAN Regional Forum. He said this dramatic expansion indicates a sharp deviation from Beijing’s “decades-old nuclear strategy based on minimum deterrence,” according to a readout of the meeting by State Department spokesman Ned Price.

    Adm. Charles Richard, commander of U.S. Strategic Command, called the development a “strategic breakout” by China. “The explosive growth and modernization of its nuclear and conventional forces can only be what I describe as breathtaking, and frankly, the word ‘breathtaking’ may not be enough,” he told the Space & Missile Defense Symposium in Huntsville, Ala., on Aug. 12.

    China has yet to officially respond to the discovery of two new missile silo sites at Yumen and Hami in northwestern China in June and a potential third in Inner Mongolia in July. The Chinese Foreign Ministry told the Associated Press on July 30 that, with respect to reports about the Hami site, it was not aware of the situation.
    UNQUOTE

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    1. Wakakakakaka…

      Don't forget to mention those Tulou cluster (土楼群) deep in the remote areas of Fujian.

      They r deadly missile silos as identified by high altitude US spyplanes!

      Delete
  4. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-57995185

    In Xinjiang too....ha ha ha...

    QUOTE
    China expanding its nuclear capabilities, scientists say
    Published 28 July 2021

    China is expanding its capacity to store and launch nuclear missiles, US scientists say.

    Satellite images from Xinjiang province in the west of the country suggest it is building a nuclear missile silo field, a report from the Federation of American Scientists (FAS) says.

    US defence officials have expressed concern about China's nuclear build-up.

    It is the second new silo field reported to be under construction in western China in the last two months.

    The site could house about 110 silos, which are underground facilities used for the storing and launching of missiles.

    Last month, the Washington Post newspaper reported 120 silos spotted at a site in a desert area in Yumen, in Gansu province.

    The FAS said in its report on Monday that the new site at Hami, about 380 km (240 miles) north-west of Yumen, was at a much earlier stage of development.

    In 2020 the Pentagon said China was set to double its stockpile of nuclear warheads, from a low base.

    The news comes as the US and Russia prepare for arms control talks.

    The talks, between US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, are being seen as a first step towards reviving stalled negotiations on reducing nuclear arms.

    But China has so far not taken part in arms control negotiations.

    The US Strategic Command, the part of the Department of Defense responsible for strategic deterrence, voiced its concern about the report in a tweet.

    "This is the second time in two months the public has discovered what we have been saying all along about the growing threat the world faces and the veil of secrecy that surrounds it," it said.

    The silo field in Xinjiang was detected using commercial satellite imagery, but higher-resolution pictures were later provided by Planet, a satellite imaging company.

    In 2020 China had a nuclear stockpile of more than 200 warheads and was aiming to at least double this amount, the Pentagon said.
    UNQUOTE

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Wakakakakaka…

      "The silo field in Xinjiang was detected using commercial satellite imagery, but higher-resolution pictures were later provided by Planet, a satellite imaging company."

      Mmm… tulou in Xinjiang!

      Dying to see those photographs of silo field!

      Wow… how paranoia!

      Delete
  5. No Meow About this? Hainan Island is like the Gate to the Southern Seas.

    Why worry about Oz, 10,000 km away. And no nuklear weapons there at all.

    QUOTE
    Yulin Naval Base

    Yulin Naval Base (Chinese: 榆林海军基地) is a naval base for nuclear submarines along the southern coast of Hainan Island, China. This underground base has been reported by several intelligence agencies, especially Indian agencies. The images collected by the Federation of American Scientists (FAS) in February 2008 shows that China constructed a large scale underground base for its naval forces. In August 2020, satellite imagery from Planet Labs appeared to show a Shang-class submarine entering the underground base.

    The caverns are capable of hiding up to 20 nuclear submarines based on reconnaissance satellites data collected. The harbor houses nuclear ballistic missile submarines and is large enough to accommodate aircraft carriers. The US Department of Defense estimated that China would have five Type 094 nuclear submarines operational by 2010 with each capable of carrying 12 JL-2 intercontinental ballistic missiles. Two 950 metre piers and three smaller ones would be enough to accommodate two carrier strike groups or amphibious assault ships.

    The submarine base is located at the point in Chinese territory that is closest to the continental shelf. It is roughly 50 nautical miles (93 km) from the base to the 200 meter isobath. It is 150 nautical miles (280 km) to the closest of the disputed Paracel Islands or the city of Da Nang, Vietnam. Speculation has been raised that the base is intended to be expanded to include future capability for aircraft carrier groups.

    The submarine base is only a few miles from the city of Sanya, a popular tourist destination and the site of a major planned cruise hub.The base is immediately next to the Yalong Bay National Resort District featuring many resort hotels.

    More than half of the world's annual merchant fleet tonnage passes through the Strait of Malacca, Sunda Strait, and Lombok Strait, with the majority continuing on into the South China Sea. Tanker traffic through the Strait of Malacca leading into the South China Sea is more than three times greater than Suez Canal traffic, and well over five times more than the Panama Canal. The People's Republic of China (PRC) has stated its claim to almost the entire body of water and is currently building multiple bases in the South China Sea to control them.
    UNQUOTE

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wakakakakaka…

      Did the NPT forbidden country building their own nuclear arsenals?

      Blurred mfer, do reread that piece of toilet paper that had been soiled by that dingo from DownUnder.

      Ooop…

      "The People's Republic of China (PRC) has stated its claim to almost the entire body of water"

      Then how did yr uncle Sam's sailing to that territory?

      By force?

      Or free passage of international water?

      Or just alien transporter!

      Delete