Canberra Strongarms Nauru to Spite Beijing

Nauru Island

14-12-2024: In a vulgar display of power, the Australian federal government has strongarmed the government of Nauru into signing a treaty giving it veto power of many of its security issues in return for the paltry sum of $140 million. The deal was announced with the Nauruan President David Adeang’s visit to Canberra,[1] but is explicitly aimed at countering the influence of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). For imperialist Australia, $140 million is chump change. For Nauru, a tiny Pacific Island nation halfway between Australia and Hawaii, and with a population of only 12 000 people,[2] it is a much larger deal. Part of the background is that in January this year, Nauru switched diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to the PRC. This left Taiwan with just 12 allies that officially recognise the PRC island province as a supposedly sovereign state. Nauru Foreign Minister Lionel Aingimea visited Beijing on January 24 to complete the recognition with his PRC counterpart Wang Yi.[3]

Refugee hellhole

The Australian government over the last two decades has used Nauru as a refugee and asylum seeker dumping ground, to be detained until they can be deported, never having a chance to enter Australia. The Australian Labor Party (ALP) federal government of Anthony “Alba-Nazi” Albanese is paying the government of Nauru $350 million annually to keep the refugee hellhole operating.[4] While the government of Nauru is hardly in a position to knock back any funding that is offered, it is still a huge betrayal of the unfortunate stateless souls that brave the seas looking for a safe place to live. Some refugee advocates make the valid point that the current Nauru Australia Treaty is a corrupt arrangement which allows the Australian government to maintain its inhumane offshore refugee detention operations while “keeping China at bay”.[5] With Nauru surrounded by thousands of square kilometres of open ocean, there is no chance of escape for imprisoned refugees.

Nauru switching diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to Beijing was only one event which spurred the Australian ruling class into action. Another reason was the Bendigo Bank and the Government of Nauru ending the deal whereby the Bendigo Bank supplied banking services to Nauru. The Bendigo Bank stated that it wanted to focus on its Australian customers by exiting its only international service.[6] By April this year, Nauru had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the PRC state owned Bank of China to “explore options to its banking issues”.[7] Bendigo Bank delayed its exit by six months, but in the meantime the Bank of China sent a delegation to Nauru. Due to Nauru’s small population, it does not have its own currency, and so uses Australian dollars. If the Bank of China was to set up in Nauru, there was a chance that it would switch its currency to RMB (Chinese Yuan).

Target China

“All of a sudden” it was announced on the 10^th of December that the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) would provide banking services in Nauru, ensuring that Nauru would continue using the Australian dollar. Both the ALP federal government and the CBA denied any favours were offered for the iconic Australian bank to establish physical branches on the Pacific Island.[8] This is a likely story. The CBA was a publicly owned bank in Australia until it was privatised by the then Labor government in the 1990s. It appears that the now privately owned CBA – which makes billions of dollars in profit every six months – remains a political operative of the Australian capitalist state. State ownership under a capitalist state, however, is a world away from state ownership in a workers’ state – as is the case with the Bank of China in the PRC. Even though the potential gain for the Bank of China in providing banking services to Nauru is negligible, it was too much for Canberra politicians in thrall to Australian and Western corporate magnates.

The kicker in the recently inked Nauru-Australia Treaty are sections 5 and 6. These sections are more or less explicit in handing Canberra veto power over any decision the Nauruan government may make. Or, at least with reference to matters such as: maritime security, defence, policing, border protection, cyber security, banking and telecommunications infrastructure AND any arrangement with any other state or entity in relation to Nauru’s critical infrastructure such and ports, aviation and energy.[9] What this effectively means is that a ship which sails under a PRC flag cannot even enter a Nauruan port without the express agreement of the Australian government! A more graphic display of Australian imperialism could scarcely be conceived, with Nauruan sovereignty virtually being bribed away.

These floundering measures by politicians in Canberra reflect the vast imbalance between declining capitalism in Australia vis-à-vis the vast socialistic economy of the PRC. The latest economic figures for the privately owned Australian economy register a vanishingly small 0.3% GDP (Gross Domestic Product) in the September quarter and a measly 0.8% annually.[10] This is almost zero and is basically an ongoing recession. By comparison, the PRC’s economy in the same quarter grew by 4.6%, on the back of an industrial sector which grew by 5.8%, containing high-tech manufacturing which was up by 9.1%.[11] There is no comparison here. Industry, manufacturing and investment in Australia is at record lows, while the opposite is the case in the PRC, Australia’s largest trading partner. The PRC is Australia’s largest two-way trading partner, accounting for just over a quarter of all goods and services consumed in Australia. Absent trade with the PRC, Australia’s economy would be even worse.

Absurdly, the Australian ruling class aligns with Washington for war plans targeting Red China. There is a larger US military presence in Australia today than at any time since WWII. It may reach between 10 and 20 thousand US troops being permanently stationed in Australia’s north.[12] Working people need to organise now to stop a catastrophic drive to war with the Asian superpower. Trade and exchange with the PRC are needed, not relentless threats of ever more dangerous conflict. A bona-fide Marxist party must be built, to help lead the masses away from war, and towards real socialism.

Workers League

www.redfireonline.com

E: workersleague@protonmail.com

[1] www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12-09/australia-nauru-treaty-locks-out-china/104702002 (11-12-2024)

[2] www.worldometers.info/world-population/nauru-population/ (11-12-2024)

[3] www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/1/24/china-and-nauru-resume-diplomatic-ties (11-12-2024)

[4] www.irishtimes.com/world/australia/2023/07/11/the-australian-island-that-became-a-living-nightmare-for-refugees-and-asylum-seekers/ (11-12-2024)

[5] www.rnz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/536345/nauru-australia-treaty-strategic-gain-or-corrupt-arrangement (11-12-2024)

[6] www.bendigobank.com.au/media-centre/joint-statement-from-bendigo-bank-and-the-government-of-nauru/ (11-12-2024)

[7] www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/western-banks-are-vacating-pacific-nauru-turning-china (11-12-2024)

[8] www.themandarin.com.au/283305-freshly-inked-treaty-brings-cba-to-nauru-assurances-about-national-security/ (11-12-2024)

[9] www.dfat.gov.au/geo/nauru/nauru-australia-treaty (11-12-2024)

[10] www.abs.gov.au/articles/ten-facts-australian-economy-september-quarter-2024 (11-12-2024)

[11] www.china-briefing.com/news/understanding-chinas-key-economy-indicators-for-q3-2024/ (11-12-2024)