As worldwide demonstrations grow about China's clamp down on pro-independence protests by Tibetans, world leaders are increasingly calling the super power to exercise restraint. With every Chinese action against Tibet provoking a reaction of unsurpassable disdain by a growing number of people around the world, it is a mounting notion that it would be a rather unenviable position for anyone to have to side with China at this point in time.
Step forward Mr. Kevin Rudd, our Mandarin speaking China loving Prime Minister. In an era whereby countries have to side with China in order to prosper economically, Mr. Rudd is fast approaching a hurdle that he must jump, one way or another.
Given his solid relationship with the Chinese Government it seems likely that Mr. Rudd will do little more than raise a whimper about the situation in Tibet when he visits China next month as part of his 19 day world tour.
This would be the very same tour whereby Mr. Rudd completely snubbed Australia's greatest Asian ally, Japan, in a blatant step towards favouring an emerging power house over a traditional ally.
Yet are all the latest events of any concern given that Australia has always recognised China's sovereignty over Tibet? Taking into account the condemnation that is rife throughout every corner of the earth; this is a situation that warrants much more than a simple raise of the Government’s eyelid.
After all, the actions of late by China surely go beyond the issue of sovereignty as it comes down to basic human rights, a topic that China is well versed in but never a disciple of. Even with the Olympic Games in Beijing just five months away, vintage China is flexing its muscle at what has to be the worst opportune moment. Do not be surprised if athletes begin to pull out because of the lack of air quality and more importantly, the deaths of at least 80 Tibetans.
As a former diplomat to China, Mr. Rudd must now make a decision that goes beyond the faint echo that "China must exercise restraint", a common catch phrase mimicked around the world by political leaders. But Mr. Rudd has demonstrated to the world that he has what it takes to go beyond the expectations of the common man, having done what governments of the past could not do by apologising to the Indigenous people.
This current unrest in Tibet however is undoubtedly Mr. Rudd's first true test on the political stage and it is inevitable that he must step up. In Rudd and human rights the Australian people trust. As such, the question that begs is whether Mr. Rudd is willing to gamble on his economic alliance with China by taking a tough stance on the gross violations occurring in Tibet or whether he will fold and take the road most travelled.
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6 comments:
"19 world tour" ... doesn't sound exactly extensive!
i hope he has the courage to risk economics for the sake of condemning (or at least questioning, rather than turning a blind eye) human rights violations
ms cunningham
Australia's greatest Asian ally, Japan
Really? In what way? I always thought, with WW history, and the whaling, and the fact that Japan is constantly in economic troubles, Australia doesn't have all that much time for Japan politically. Please enlighten me!
Japan does not always get the headlines in Australia because their economic and political relationships run so smoothly and people lose sight of just how important Japan is to Australia.
The rapid development of Japan's relations with Australia in the post-war era was based on mutually complementary trade links.
Since then, the relationship has expanded to economic activities, politics, culture and various other fields.
As trusted partners in the Asia Pacific region, Japan and Australia share a common interest in regional stability and prosperity.
Relations have always been warm since the second world war, with Australian Prime Ministers visiting Japan 20 times.
In 2006 Australia and Japan celebrated the thirtieth anniversary of the 1976 Basic Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation during which then Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer and Japan’s Foreign Minister declared that the partnership between Australia and Japan was based on shared democratic values, mutual respect, deep friendship, and shared strategic views.
Australia and Japan have also worked well together in regional discussions such as APEC, the ASEAN Regional Forum and the East Asia Forum.
Security wise, in 2007, John Howard signed a Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation and the Liberal government met with their Japanese counterparts for the first-ever Australia-Japan Joint Foreign and Defence Ministerial Consultations.
Japan has been Australia’s largest trading partner for 40 years and is still Australia’s largest export market by far.
Trade between Australia and Japan took off in the 1960s. The strong increase in trade followed the signing of the Australia-Japan Commerce Agreement. The 6th of July will be the 51st anniversary of the signing.
There has of course been trade between Australia and Japan before the 1957 Agreement but by 1967, only 10 years after the agreement was signed, Japan had become Australia’s largest export market.
Japan is the largest buyer of Australia’s primary products, including agricultural and mining products. Japan is also the top market for a number of specific products such as coal, LNG, beef, aluminium, copper, woodchips and dairy products, which are the industries on which much of regional and rural Australia relies.
Australia’s exports of goods and services to Japan reached $35.5 billion last year – a vital contribution to Australia’s record total of $210 billion in exports.
Japan is also the third-biggest foreign investor in Australia with Japanese investment providing thousands of jobs in the manufacturing sector in Victoria and South Australia.
Yes there has been tensions with the whaling incidents involving the Australian High Court to declare Japan’s whaling illegal.
But in hindsight, it is evident that such tensions were quickly swept under the carpet as it did little to dampen relations between Japan and Australia.
Even at the height of the supposed kidnapping of the two activists from the Sea Shepherd, politicians were exercising caution in their actions so as to preserve relations. Japan also did its best to calm tensions, ordering the Japanese whaling ship to return the two protestors to Australia custom vessels.
In regards to the second world war, there was definitely ill tensions between Australia and Japan but that was over 60 years ago, a relatively long time ago especially given that Australia is a young country, having only been ‘settled’ in 1788.
Furthermore, governments, their people and their mindsets from the second world war are starkly different to the governments, people and their mindsets of today.
Take Germany for example, with the German Chancellor visiting Israel in a landmark tour pledging to forge stronger ties and apologising in the Israeli parliament for the holocaust.
As evident from above, relations between Japan and Australia have since come a long way.
Anyway, I hope that all this provides some enlightenment.
Ernest Chan
didn't realise any of that ... has rudd indicated that he will be visiting japan in the future, or that his japanese counterpart will be visiting here?
and do you know how japan and china get on economically? i'm guessing that wouldn't be a happy relationship, but do they trade with each other?
ms cunningham
Mr Rudd has said that he will be attending the G8 Summit, during which time he plans to have a bilateral meeting between himself and Japan’s Prime Minister Fukuda.
As a result of all the media scrutiny in regards to Mr Rudd’s actions of late in regards to this China / Japan issue, it would be political suicide to further distance Australia from Japan in any future visits / talks.
In regards to economic ties between Japan and China, interestingly, Japanese trade with China reached $168 billion USD, allowing China to replace the United States as Japan's largest trading partner for the first time since World War II.
In addition, one million Chinese workers are directly employed by Japanese companies in China, and another 9.2million employed by Japanese subcontractors.
However, as you mentioned, relations are still extremely tense, which has been highlighted in the recent past by anti-Japanese demonstrations in Chinese cities, the repeated and controversial visits to Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine (the shrine honouring Japan’s World War II dead) by former Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, and the buzz among Chinese and Japanese security specialists about the perceived military threat from each other's growing armed forces.
Beijing was also offended when the Japanese government joined the U.S. administration in identifying security in the Taiwan Strait as a "common strategic objective" that falls under the terms of the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty.
Tensions between Beijing and Tokyo reached a boiling point when the Chinese government cancelled a visit to Beijing by former Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura over the Yasukuni visits. High-level talks between Tokyo and Beijing have yet to resume.
Ernest Chan
i think there needs to be another article along the lines of 'why does nationality matter so much?'
i mean, there's alot of places where people on opposite sides of borders just don't get on very well. which is strange when you consider that many people would be quite similar in to those on the other side of the border, and that border locations are, for the most part, a historical artefact of previous/current military power.
ms cunningham
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