{"id":14669,"date":"2011-09-26T12:00:58","date_gmt":"2011-09-26T11:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=14669"},"modified":"2011-09-23T13:19:03","modified_gmt":"2011-09-23T12:19:03","slug":"the-australian-north-west-cape-military-base","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2011\/09\/the-australian-north-west-cape-military-base\/","title":{"rendered":"The Australian North West Cape Military Base"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The military base at North West Cape has been and remains controversial.<\/p>\n

The base was designed as part of the US\u2019s MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction) policy during the cold war.\u00a0 Its function was to communicate to nuclear armed and powered submarines the order to fire nuclear missiles at the then Soviet Union. US strategy was to have as many ways as possible to inflict maximum damage on Soviet Union from under the water, on the water, from the air, from land and from space.\u00a0 North West Cape was an important Command Control and Communications nodule in the system for nuclear war.<\/p>\n

Film footage of a grinning US ambassador giving Australian Government representatives a peppercorn as rent for North West Cape was a concrete expression of Australian subservience to the United States and a lack of US respect for Australian interests which we still contend with today.<\/p>\n

North West Cape has attracted peace demonstrations and other forms of criticism and protest. It will attract more until this blot on the national estate is removed.<\/p>\n

Recent History<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

At the end of the cold war the US withdrew and the base was handed over to Australian use for its small submarine fleet \u2013 a fleet of six Collins Class vessels which apparently can only manage to have one on station at any one time.<\/p>\n

Australian taxpayers paid for the base upkeep and maintenance.<\/p>\n

The US returned to use it, apparently without charge, during its first and second incursions into Iraq.<\/p>\n

Indian Ocean<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Attention to the Indian Ocean has been limited among US policy makers in recent years, with the exception of the base at Diego Garcia.<\/p>\n

However with India emerging as a major regional power, this situation is changing as Washington and Canberra both seek to maximise their leverage and connections with India.<\/p>\n

Speaking recently to the Asia Foundation in San Francisco, Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd said:<\/p>\n

\u2018The critical region for our future now extends to include the Indian Ocean as well. It is in the interests of both the US and Australia for India to play the role of a major international power. India is increasingly looking east with interest, both for strategic and economic reasons, and because of long-standing cultural connections.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n

However, the US position on India is contradictory. US policy makers have explicitly stated in the past that their country will not tolerate competition that threatens their economic or military hegemony.<\/p>\n

The US has recently declared the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India and China and South Africa) countries as a security risk.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Voice of Russia (12\/9\/11) reported:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe BRICS countries, which include Brazil, Russia, India and China, have been listed among those posing a threat to the US national security along with terrorism, cyber attacks, and the nuclear programs of Iran and North Korea. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta urged Washington to protect the planet against these countries’ attempts to ruin global stability.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Given this situation and Australia\u2019s interest in benign and constructive relations with India, Australia should be extremely wary of permitting the re-entry of the US Navy into NW Cape complex.<\/p>\n

Confidence building<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Reopening North West Cape as a United States navy base sends a threatening signal to the region, the very opposite of the security and confidence building measures that the Australian Government claims to espouse.<\/p>\n

It is a clear signal to China, and also to India, that the US is developing submarine communications as well as positioning troops, ballistic missiles and other equipment able to threaten their countries directly should Washington feel its (not necessarily Australia\u2019s) interests are threatened.<\/p>\n

We should not be surprised if both countries respond by upgrading their own armaments, encouraging an Indo-Pacific arms race that threatens security and economic development.<\/p>\n

The US has been described as \u2018a military giant and a moral pygmy\u2019. By no stretch of the imagination is it in Australia\u2019s interests to assist the US to impose its dominance in the Indian Ocean region.<\/p>\n

The result will fatally undermine Australia\u2019s security and international reputation.<\/p>\n

Countries smaller in size and economic power, such as Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia, are already spending significant amounts of money on their military forces.<\/p>\n

Our Anti-Bases Coalition warned the Australian Government that the manufacture of the Collins Class submarines would contribute to an arms race in the region. This is now happening as regional states purchase submarines and put them on station.<\/p>\n

The knock on effects of increased military expenditure by our own Government and the other Governments in our region mean problems that could be fixed fester for years.\u00a0 Illiteracy and lack of education could be tackled more diligently and the lack of food security and many more problems will be left because of insufficient funds.\u00a0 The results will be more civil unrest and war.<\/p>\n

Submarines<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

North West Cape will be used for naval communications, especially communications with submarines.<\/p>\n

Submarines are offensive attack weapons platforms. The longer the range and greater the weaponry of a submarine, the greater is the risk it imposes.<\/p>\n

In seeking to have North West Cape operational as a US naval base again, Australia is supporting US plans to bring its nuclear powered and armed submarines into the Indian Ocean, creating a significant threat perception among regional powers.<\/p>\n

The US is moving more and more of its submarines into this region and its fleet is considerable, to put it mildly. It includes<\/p>\n