- The Strategist - https://www.aspistrategist.org.au -
Oz-China chills in SecWorld, EcWorld, SocWorld, DipWorld & PolWorld
Posted By Graeme Dobell on May 7, 2018 @ 06:00
In response, the Security Establishment (Defence, ONA, ASIO, ASIS, PM&C’s International Division, and the think tanks they fund such as ASPI) some time ago concluded that the China relationship was too important to trust to DFAT. The Foreign Minister’s, and hence her department’s, role in managing this critical relationship has become inconsequential.
China today permeates Australian society—some form of Chinese is the second most widely spoken language in Australian homes; fee-paying Chinese students largely support Australia’s higher education sector financially, while Chinese tourists have long been the biggest spenders. They are now also the most numerous. All of these trends will continue to deepen.
Instead of a narrative of an Australian society in which the presence of China is being felt to a greater degree in series of disparate fields, we are witnessing the creation of a racialised narrative of a vast official Chinese conspiracy. In the eyes of some, the objective of this conspiracy is no less than to reduce Australia to the status of a ‘tribute state’ or ‘vassal’. The discourse is couched in such a way as to encourage suspicion and stigmatisation of Chinese Australians in general. The alarmist tone of this discourse impinges directly on our ability to deal with questions involving China in the calm and reasoned way they require. Already it is dissuading Chinese Australians from contributing to public debate for fear of being associated with such a conspiracy.
Article printed from The Strategist: https://www.aspistrategist.org.au
URL to article: https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/oz-china-chills-in-secworld-ecworld-socworld-dipworld-polworld/
[1] new Oz–China icy age: https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/big-chill-china-australia/
[2] David Uren: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/opinion/david-uren-economics/150bn-reasons-why-chinese-trade-alliance-is-so-valuable-to-australia/news-story/cd06f727d391f4c3705603fb542ad753
[3] geostrategic: https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/ad-aspi/2017-11/SI123%20Australias%20management%20of%20strategic%20risk.pdf?lUIbV_Q9FeuM_lYwudWYEqD9FfgmUS9x
[4] geoeconomic concerns : http://www.internationalaffairs.org.au/australianoutlook/china-and-the-united-states-trade-war/
[5] snarlier and snappier: https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/security-economic-worlds-collide-dfat-white-paper/
[6] Geoff Raby: https://johnmenadue.com/geoff-raby-the-current-mess-in-australia-china-relations/
[7] 2016 census: http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/[email protected]/Lookup/by%20Subject/2071.0~2016~Main%20Features~Cultural%20Diversity%20Data%20Summary~30
[8] foreign interference and espionage law: https://www.pm.gov.au/media/speech-introducing-national-security-legislation-amendment-espionage-and-foreign-interference
[9] parliamentary review of the proposed legislation: https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Joint/Intelligence_and_Security/EspionageFInterference
[10] public submissions: https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Joint/Intelligence_and_Security/EspionageFInterference/Submissions
[11] clash of petitions: https://theconversation.com/when-it-comes-to-chinas-influence-on-australia-beware-of-sweeping-statements-and-conflated-ideas-94496
[12] Concerned Scholars of China: https://www.policyforum.net/an-open-letter-from-concerned-scholars-of-china-and-the-chinese-diaspora/
[13] Scholars of China and the Chinese diaspora: https://www.policyforum.net/chinas-influence-australia-maintaining-debate/