PRIMEMINISTERSTEPHENHARPERsTRIPTO CHINAANDCANADASENEMIES

DonCurrie,EditorFocusOnSocialism,ChairCPS
January11,2012

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PrimeMinisterStephenHarperwillvisitChinanextmonthpromotingthesaleofCanadianoil to China and according to media reports, seeking more Chinese investment in Canadian energyprojects.HarperwillalsobeseekingtoadvancethegovernmentsplantojointheUS backedAsiaPacificfreetradeagreementknownastheTransPacificPartnership. 1 The media speculates that the trip represents a change in the Harper Governments heretofore hostile attitude to China. During the January 2006 federal election campaign, desperate to garner all rightwing anticommunist voters available, Harper on several occasionsdenouncedChinashumanrightsrecordimplyingthatitmustchangebeforehe wouldvisitandChinaCanadianrelationscouldimprove. AssoonasheachievedaParliamentarymajoritytherhetoriccooledanddiplomaticchannels betweenCanadaandChinabegantoopenup. DoesthiscoolingofrhetoricrepresentachangeintheHarperGovernmentsstrategicview ofChinaandthestruggleunderwayforUSdominanceoverrivalsintheAsianPacificregion? OnDecember07,2011standingnexttoPresidentObamaannouncinganewbordersecurity dealbetweenCanadaandtheUSAthePrimeMinistersaid: What threatens the security andwellbeing of the United States threatens the security and wellbeingofCanadaCanadahasnofriendsamongAmerica'senemies. 2 OnewonderswhysomejournalistoroppositionmemberofParliamentnotaskedthePrime MinisterasheheadsforChinainFebruary;isChinaanenemyorfriendoftheUSA? Harpers statement in Washington regarding Canadas friends and enemies has to be considered in the light of what the USA is saying about friends and enemies in the Asian Pacific. HereiswhatPresidentObamasaidtotheAustralianParliamentlastNovemberregardingUS strategicaimsintheAsianPacificregionthatcontainedspecificreferencetoChina.Infactit wouldnotbeanexaggerationtoconsiderthespeechastatementofUSpolicyintheregion regardingtheriseofChina:PresidentObamasaid:

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http://www.international.gc.ca/tradeagreementsaccordscommerciaux/agracc/tppptp.aspx?lang=eng&view=d http://www.edmontonjournal.com/business/Obama+Harper+unveil+accord+border+security/5828712/story.html
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As President, I have therefore made a deliberate and strategic decision as a Pacific nation,theUnitedStateswillplayalargerandlongtermroleinshapingthisregionand itsfuture,byupholdingcoreprinciplesandinclosepartnershipwithalliesandfriends. Letmetellyouwhatthismeans. First,weseeksecurity,whichisthefoundationofpeaceandprosperity.Westandfor aninternationalorderinwhichtherightsandresponsibilitiesofallnationsandpeople are upheld. Where international law and norms are enforced. Where commerce and freedomofnavigationarenotimpeded.Whereemergingpowerscontributetoregional security,andwheredisagreementsareresolvedpeacefully. Thatisthefutureweseek. Now,IknowthatsomeinthisregionhavewonderedaboutAmerica'scommitmentto upholdingtheseprinciples.Soletmeaddressthisdirectly. AstheUnitedStatesputsourfiscalhouseinorder,wearereducingourspending.And yes, after 'a decade of extraordinary growth in our military budgets and as we definitivelyendthewarinIraq,andbegintowinddownthewarinAfghanistanwewill makesomereductionsindefencespending. As we consider the future of our armed forces, we have begun a review that will identify our most important strategic interests and guide our defence priorities and spendingoverthecomingdecade. Sohereiswhatthisregionmustknow. As we end today's wars, I have directed my national security team to make our presence and mission in the Asia Pacific a top priority. As a result, reductions in US defencespendingwillnotIrepeat,willnotcomeattheexpenseoftheAsiaPacific. Myguidanceisclear. As we plan and budget for the future, we will allocate the resources necessary to maintainourstrongmilitarypresenceinthisregion. Wewillpreserveouruniqueabilitytoprojectpoweranddeterthreatstopeace.We willkeepourcommitments,includingourtreatyobligationstoallieslikeAustralia.

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And we will constantly strengthen our capabilities to meet the needs of the 21st century. Our enduring interests in the region demand our enduring presence in this region. TheUnitedStatesisaPacificpower,andweareheretostay. Indeed,we'realreadymodernisingAmerica'sdefencepostureacrosstheAsiaPacific. ItwillbemorebroadlydistributedmaintainingourstrongpresenceinJapanandon theKoreanpeninsula,whileenhancingourpresenceinSoutheastAsia. Ourposturewillbemoreflexiblewithnewcapabilitiestoensurethatourforcescan operatefreely.Andourposturewillbemoresustainablebyhelpingalliesandpartners buildtheircapacity,withmoretrainingandexercises. WeseeournewposturehereinAustralia. The initiatives that the Prime Minister and I announced yesterday will bring our two militaries even closer. We'll have new opportunities to train with other allies and partners,fromthePacifictotheIndianOcean. And it will allow us to respond faster to the full range of challenges, including humanitariancrisesanddisasterrelief. Since World War II, Australians have warmly welcomed American service members who'vepassedthrough. On behalf of the American people, I thank you for welcoming those who will come next,astheyensurethatouralliancestaysstrongandreadyforthetestsofourtime. WeseeAmerica'senhancedpresenceintheallianceswe'vestrengthened. In Japan, where our alliance remains a cornerstone of regional security. In Thailand, wherewe'repartneringfordisasterrelief. InthePhilippines,wherewe'reincreasingshipvisitsandtraining.AndinSouthKorea, whereourcommitmenttothesecurityoftheRepublicofKoreawillneverwaver. Indeed,wealsoreiterateourresolvetoactfirmlyagainstanyproliferationactivitiesby NorthKorea.

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The transfer of nuclear materials or material by North Korea to states or nonstate entitieswouldbeconsideredagravethreattotheUnitedStatesandourallies. AndwewouldholdNorthKoreafullyaccountablefortheconsequencesofsuchaction. WeseeAmerica'senhancedpresenceacrossSoutheastAsia. In our partnership with Indonesia against piracy and violent extremism, and in our workwithMalaysiatopreventproliferation. Intheshipswe'lldeploytoSingapore,andinourclosercooperationwithVietnamand Cambodia.AndinourwelcomeofIndiaasit"lookseast"andplaysalargerroleasan Asianpower. Atthesametime,we'rereengagedwithregionalorganisations. OurworkinBalithisweekwillmarkmythirdmeetingwithASEANleaders,andI'llbe proudtobethefirstAmericanpresidenttoattendtheEastAsiaSummit. Together, I believe we can address shared challenges, such as proliferation and maritimesecurity,includingcooperationintheSouthChinaSea. Meanwhile, the United States will continue our effort to build a cooperative relationshipwithChina. All of our nations Australia, the United States, all of our nations have a profound interestintheriseofapeacefulandprosperousChinaandthatiswhytheUnitedStates welcomesit. We've seen that China can be a partner, from reducing tensions on the Korean Peninsulatopreventingproliferation. And we'll seek more opportunities for cooperation with Beijing, including greater communication between our militaries to promote understanding and avoid miscalculation. Wewilldothis,evenascontinuetospeakcandidlytoBeijingabouttheimportanceof upholdinginternationalnormsandrespectingtheuniversalhumanrightsoftheChinese people.

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AsecureandpeacefulAsiaisthefoundationforthesecondareainwhichAmericais leadingagainandthat'sadvancingoursharedprosperity. History teaches us the greatest force the world has ever known for creating wealth andopportunityisfreemarkets. Soweseekeconomiesthatareopenandtransparent. We seek trade that is free and fair. And we seek an open international economic system,whererulesareclearandeverynationplaysbythem. InAustraliaandAmerica,weunderstandtheseprinciples.We'reamongthemostopen economiesonearth. Sixyearsintoourlandmarktradeagreement,commercebetweenushassoared. Our workers are creating new partnerships and new products, like the advanced aircrafttechnologieswebuildtogetherinVictoria. We'retheleadinginvestorinAustralia,andyouinvestmoreinAmericathanyoudoin anyothernation,creatinggoodjobsinbothcountries. We recognise that economic partnerships can't just be about one nation extracting another'sresources. Weunderstandthatnolongtermstrategyforgrowthcanbeimposedfromabove. Real prosperity prosperity that fosters innovation and prosperity that endures comesfromunleashingourgreatesteconomicresourceandthat'stheentrepreneurial spirit,thetalentsofourpeople. So even as America competes aggressively in Asian markets, we're forging the economicpartnershipsthatcreateopportunityforall. Building on our historic trade agreement with South Korea, we're working with AustraliaandourotherAPECpartnerstocreateaseamlessregionaleconomy.

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AndwithAustraliaandotherpartners,we'reontracktoachieveourmostambitious trade agreement yet, and a potential model for the entire regionthe TransPacific Partnership. 3 We have deliberately quoted President Obamas speech at length because it needs to be carefully studied as it is a frank statement of the intention of the US to build up a larger military presence in the whole region, including provocatively in the South China Sea adjacentChinasterritorialwaters. Sincemakingthespeech,theUSmilitarypresenceintheregionhasbeengrowingandUS think tanks are beginning to develop a full range of arguments as to why the USA must increaseitsmilitarypresenceintheintheAsianPacificregion.Chinahasprotestedoverthe US buildup near Taiwan and China and Vietnam and predictably has increased its naval defensesinSouthChinaSea. 4 WhatisimportanttonoteinHarpersintentiontoseekCanadianmembershipintheTrans Pacific Partnership Agreement is that China is excluded. The agreement is headed for finalizationbytheendof2012.Canadianmembershipinatradingpartnership,dominatedby theUSAinwhichChinaisexcludedwillbeviewedbyChinawithsuspicionandskepticism. CanadianshavealwayshadfriendlyandcordialrelationswithChina.Canadawasamongthe first NATO states to recognize China and has benefited greatly over the decades from improvedtrade.OnewondersasthePrimeMinistersitsdownwiththeleadersofChinahow he will explain his support for US strategic policy in the Asian Pacific and in particular his governments hostile stance toward the Democratic Peoples Republic of North Korea (DPRK)andallyofChinaandaccordingtoPresidentObamaanenemyoftheUSA?Canada imposedheavysanctionsonNorthKoreain2011. 5 PrimeMinisterHarpersrhetoricaboutCanadahavingnofriendsamongtheenemiesofthe USA is the kind of provocative and irresponsible statement that has led our country into threeNATOwarsinthelasttwentytwoyearsandnowpossiblyotherswithIranandSyria. The Prime Ministers hyperbole places our country in hostile opposition to most of global public opinion and innumerable governments and states that disapprove and resist US

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Readmore:http://www.smh.com.au/national/textofobamasspeechtoparliament201111171nkcw.html#ixzz1jCZoGbAo http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/NA12Ad01.html 5 http://www.international.gc.ca/sanctions/koreacoree.aspx?lang=eng&view=d

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imperialistglobalandmilitarystrategicgoals.ThePrimeMinisteriswrongandirresponsible tomakesuchexaggeratedstatements. Canada should not join the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement and develop its own independent and mutually beneficial trade relations with China irrespective of the global strategicaimsoftheUSAintheAsianPacific. The USA is provoking an imperialist confrontation with China in the Asian Pacific and is seekingalliesinthatpurpose.Canadashouldnotbepartofit.

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