Vol. 75/No. 6      February 14, 2011

In addition to the imperialists’ long-term goal to contain the influence of China, the two parties discussed military and intelligence cooperation in the greater Asia-Pacific region, the Afghanistan-Pakistan war, as well as space and cyber warfare.

UK defence secretary Liam Fox as well as British military and intelligence chiefs accompanied Foreign Secretary William Hague. They conferred with their Australian counterparts led by Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd and Defence Minister Stephen Smith.

The two imperialist allies decided to continue meeting on an annual basis, as the Australian government does with Washington, its chief ally. Canberra also has bilateral strategic conferences with Tokyo, and plans to do so with the Indonesian government.

The January 18 meeting was held shortly after the Chinese military deployed the world’s first antiship ballistic missile designed to counter Washington’s naval power and conducted a test of its prototype stealth fighter jet, both examples of Beijing’s rapidly advancing arsenal. By most estimates China’s military expenditure is second only to the United States.

Hague, the first British foreign secretary to visit here in 17 years, called Australia “a major player in a region of great importance to our collective security, with powerful links with China.” He cited Australia’s continuing mineral export boom, which has made China its largest trading partner. British capital is now the largest foreign investor in Australia through the expansion of Anglo-Australian mining corporations BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto.

The British foreign secretary said these renewed links to Australia, as well as New Zealand, were part of a “decisive” shift in focus from Europe “to the east and to the south.” As part of carrying this out, he said, British forces need to become more “expeditionary and agile.” Hague also raised the idea of trying to “reinvigorate” the Commonwealth, the association of imperialist and semicolonial countries formerly part of the British Empire. This includes India and Pakistan, the latter of which was created by the bloody division of India orchestrated by British imperialism after World War II. Washington has been working toward establishing a détente between New Delhi and Islamabad as part of deepening its alliance with both. Its growing influence on the Indian subcontinent and Afghanistan is part of an effort to cement alliances in the broader region as a counterweight to China.

Hague emphasized the continued importance of London’s alliances in Europe and its special relationship with Washington.

The Australian government is boosting arms expenditure in an effort to offset China’s growing power in the region. Canberra plans to spend more than US$50 billion over the next two decades on projects that include new air warfare destroyers, submarines, frigates, amphibious assault ships, and 100 radar-evading U.S.-built F-35 joint strike fighters.  
 
 
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