Posted on 04/25/2022 4:29:41 AM PDT by FarCenter
Like the Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha’apai volcano that triggered a massive tsunami and sent shockwaves around the world when it erupted on January 15, the recently signed security deal between the Solomon Islands and China has also unleashed geopolitical convulsions of immense magnitude.
The source of the spectacular volcanic eruption that was visible from space came from deep below the surface. Similarly, the controversial security deal, and Australia’s alarmed response to it, also goes deep into history.
Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare has repeatedly described the China deal as an assertion of sovereignty. (Critics say it is the opposite.) China added to this discourse by accusing the Australian government of “disrespectful colonialism” in its unsuccessful attempts to dissuade Sogavare’s government from formalizing the deal.
Yet Prime Minister Scott Morrison defended Australia’s response, claiming his government did not want to repeat the “long history” of telling Pacific nations what to do. Morrison added,
"I’m not going to act like former administrations that treated the Pacific like some extension of Australia."
Morrison is absolutely right about one thing – there is a long history shaping the recent deal. But were the Solomons treated like an extension of Australia? Did Australia exercise colonial power over the nation? Most crucially, how can Australia correct past mistakes and move forward given the new regional reality?
(Excerpt) Read more at asiatimes.com ...
Solomon Islands, which is over 1000 miles from Australia, doing a deal with China is a crisis.
Colonialism and mercantilism is alive and well. Just new occupants at the top of the pyramid.
Looks like this forum’s Putinists have found a new hobby: defending China bribing/corrupting the Solomon Islands so they can threaten a western nation with their shitty Navy.
My money's on them succeeding. Some time in the future...maybe 50 years from now,maybe just 20 years from now...the world's decent,civilized people will come to regret the day when the world's industrialized nations/regions (the US,Europe,Japan,etc) chose to open their ports to Chinese made goods.That day having occurred in the late 80's/early 90's.
False premise. No one was even discussing Ukraine joining NATO before the invasion, and with the traitors/Putinists in Germany, it was never going to happen. Germany won't even say yay or nay for them entering the EU.
The NATO excuse was always just that: an excuse for Russia to invade a country they believed was weak and which the West would abandon. They were wrong on both counts, and now Russia's big offensive on the South and South East is failing to produce results, with the Ukrainians now firing missiles blowing up gas depots 59 miles into Russia.
Cry harder CCP-Bot.
The Communist Chinese Troll does not see the
Commies cutting off the Australian Sea connection to the US as a problem .
I wonder why ?
How is the weather in Beijing today ?
They say that China thinks 1000 years into the future. People who understand the regime know that China does not think even 24 hours into the future. All their decisions cause more problems than they solve, leading to unimaginable catastrophes.
The threat of China is the same as that of Russia: like orcs and goblins, they will come in and crap on everything, light it on fire, and leave it a wasteland before finally starving and dying because they are too stupid to live.
If good men resist them, they lose. If we do nothing, our nations will be conquered by these orcs and goblins and the experiment of life on Earth will come to an end.
How far is the Honiara from Beijing? Over 4000 miles? I bet it’s a lot closer now.
Asia Times is a Commie China Propaganda site .
Like YOU .
A Commie Chinese Troll !
I'm more familiar with the cities of Guangzhou (formerly known as "Canton") and Schenzhen,both huge cities located in the southeast (not far from Hong Kong. My first visit to "Canton" (1981) featured huge,drab Soviet style buildings and rush hour traffic that consisted of a few buses,many military vehicles and 700,000 bicycles (I kid you not).
In 2019 Guangzhou featured huge glass and steel skyscrapers and huge traffic jams of Toyotas,various Chinese made cars and Buicks (yes,*Buicks*).
But the problem is that once you get 5 miles from downtown you're in the middle of nowhere seeing a scene right out of the 1700's. Most Chinese people live like savages. The reason that we can buy a Chinese made light bulb for 50 cents while an American made one costs 75 cents is because there are a billion Chinese willing to work 14 hours a day,six days a week for 75 cents an hour because if they didn't they'd starve to death.
The Butchers of Beijing don't worry about the masses because they know they don't have to.That's because the Chinese people have been accustomed to living like savages since the dawn of civilization.
Ever heard of Guadalcanal? Any clue why seizing that airfield back from the Japanese required a three month bloody campaign?
The Solomons are a critical point in the Pacific for interdicting communication/support between Australia and the United States and other points west. If you control the Solomons, you control the southwest Pacific.
The Freerepublic has become a haven for isolationists, no-nothings, draft dodgers, and enemy sympathizers - and a desert for geopolitical knowledge
Put the political issues aside; follow the money from China to the Administrators of the Solomons. They were paid off to be enjoined by China.
More problems blamed on those pesky white people. What is a poor marginalized POC to do?
/s
Ukraine Wanted to Join NATO's Alliance for Years. What Stopped It?
In the years before war, Ukraine’s leaders made enthusiastic pleas about their desire to bring the country into NATO, and the prospect rose in popularity in public polls.
Does Ukraine Want to Join NATO?
Ukraine’s leaders in recent years have made enthusiastic pleas about their desire to bring the country into NATO — especially current President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who was elected into office in 2019.
His election came on the heels of a move by Ukraine’s parliament to enshrine the goals of joining NATO and the European Union into the country’s constitution in September 2018.
Three years later, Zelenskyy sat in the Oval Office, meeting with President Joe Biden during an official visit to the U.S., and he told reporters he planned to press his American counterpart on the question of Ukraine’s “chances to join NATO and the timeframe." No timeline or further commitment came out of the meeting.
NATO bases in Ukraine......gooood! Russia must accept!
Australia has turned into a nazi island - its no wonder pacific islands don’t trust them and want out from under their thumb 🤪
https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_37750.htm
NATO: Relations with Ukraine
A sovereign, independent and stable Ukraine, firmly committed to democracy and the rule of law, is key to Euro-Atlantic security. Relations between NATO and Ukraine date back to the early 1990s and have since developed into one of the most substantial of NATO’s partnerships. Since 2014, in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, cooperation has been intensified in critical areas.
...
Since the NATO Summit in Warsaw in July 2016, NATO’s practical support for Ukraine is set out in the Comprehensive Assistance Package (CAP) for Ukraine.
In June 2017, the Ukrainian Parliament adopted legislation reinstating membership in NATO as a strategic foreign and security policy objective. In 2019, a corresponding amendment to Ukraine’s Constitution entered into force.
In September 2020, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy approved Ukraine’s new National Security Strategy, which provides for the development of the distinctive partnership with NATO with the aim of membership in NATO.
A Chinese naval base at Tulagi projects power outward. The Chinese navy could base guided missile ships there. Suddenly Papua New Guinea loks like a good place for future military investment. Resurrecting SEATO would also be a good idea, with PNG, Australia and the Philippines as significant players.
A USAF/RAAF airbase on Bougainville, in the north end of the Solomon Islands, would be a good idea. A USN/RAN naval base at Rabaual, in New Britain, would also be a good idea.
Yeah, you get it. At least somebody gets it. And it took a lot more than three months to take the whole island. There were multiple, brutally fought naval battles as the Japanese tried to reinforce and resupply their troops on the island.
See post 17, which should have been a reply to your post 5.
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