Posted on 06/10/2008 1:23:21 PM PDT by CarrotAndStick
ADELAIDE - Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has proposed an Asia-Pacific community by 2020 that would include among others the United States, China, Japan and India and be capable of canvassing security, political and economic matters. He unveiled his brand new idea in a speech last week that he gave to the Asia Society AustralAsia Center in Sydney.
>>>
China obsession Even before Rudd became prime minister there were apprehensions in the region that his Asia foreign policy would revolve around China. Rudd studied China at university and speaks fluent Mandarin and spent considerable time in the Middle Kingdom both as student and later as Australia's diplomat before he turned to politics.
On assuming office, Rudd visited China during his first foreign tour that also included the US and Europe but not Japan, which was long Australia's largest trading partner and remains its largest export destination and has served as the most reliable and all-weather friend in Asia.
>>>
Rudd has also managed to spoil Australia's budding relationship with India.
While the prime minister has included India in his Asia-Pacific community vision and publicly acknowledged India's rising importance in Australian foreign policy even before he came to power, he rubbed India up the wrong way soon after assuming office. His government declared that Australia would not support the Japan-sponsored quadrilateral process that included the US, Japan, India and Australia. His government also refused to supply uranium to India. The Rudd government is cynically opposed to the stance of the previous John Howard government that cautiously favored the quadrilateral process and had endorsed the sales of uranium to India.
(Excerpt) Read more at atimes.com ...
It’s dark days in Australia with this clown (or should I say Democratic clone) in charge. First he was appeasing the green left with some sort of pointless save the whales carry on, now he’s showing his left wing anti-nuclear energy credentials. In the meantime, the same REAL issues (fuel costs, home & food prices) are hurting Australians as much as folks in the US - yet he’s STILL remains a media darling.
The Rudd cause this week is the International Commission on Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament. (Cheryl Kernot's ex-boyfriend is going to run it - how can it not be a success?)
All commies are the same.They care abt. fellow commies more than they care abt their own country.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.