Some assistance is required for those trying to understand contemporary Australian foreign policy these days, especially those looking for consistency, principles and ethics which seem all too illusive. Below is a brief guide, one that generally holds regardless of whether the LNP or ALP is in power.
Crimes we aren’t concerned about because they are committed by friends and allies
– French state violence against the gilets jaunes in Paris
– Indian state terrorism in Kashmir
– United Kingdom and United States-backed Saudi and UAE atrocities in Yemen
– Washington’s attempt to overthrow the government of Venezuela
Crimes we didn’t or don’t care about or quietly support
– Indonesia’s occupation of East Timor
– Indonesian military and police violence against West Papuans
– Israel’s bombing of Syria
– Israel’s bombing of Lebanon
– Israel’s bombing of Iraq
– Israel’s attacks on civilians in Gaza
– the consequences of our invasion for the people of Iraq
Crimes we have never heard about or pretend we haven’t
– Morocco’s illegal occupation of Western Sahara
– United States and European support for terrorists in Syria
– NATO’s attack on Libya
– Israel’s crimes in Gaza and on the West Bank
Freedom of navigation that must be upheld and maintained
– in the South China Sea
– in the Straits of Hormuz
Freedom of navigation that we aren’t interested in
– in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Gaza (illegal blockade by Israel)
Unacceptable racism and bigotry
– anti-Americanism
– anti-Semitism
Acceptable racism and bigotry
– Russophobia
– Sinophobia (more recently)
– Islamophobia
Media freedom, prisoners and journalists we support
– Peter Greste in Egypt
– Yang Hengjun in China
Media freedom, prisoners and journalists we oppose
– Julian Assange in the United Kingdom
– Edward Snowden in Russia
– Chelsea Manning in the United States
Foreign influence, spying and interference that concerns us
– from China
– from Russia
Foreign influence, spying and interference we don’t care about and never mention
– from the United States
– from the United Kingdom
– from Israel
– from Indonesia
Countries we like to attack, invade and occupy
– North Korea
– Vietnam
– Afghanistan
– Iraq
– Libya
– Syria
Attacks on the ‘rules-based world order’ and international law that we oppose
– Russia’s annexation of Crimea
– China’s repression of the Uighur in Xinjiang Province
– China’s building of air strips in the South China Sea
– Iran’s seizure of ships in the Straits of Hormuz
Attacks on the ‘rules-based world order’ and International law that we support or stay silent about
– Israel’s illegal siege of Gaza
– Israel’s violent colonisation of the West Bank
– Washington’s unilateral withdrawal from the JCPOA with Iran
– Washington’s withdrawal from the Paris climate change agreement
– Washington’s recognition of the Golan Heights as part of Israel
– Washington’s embassy move and recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital
– Washington’s withdrawal from the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty
– Turkey’s illegal occupation of northern Cyprus
– the ICJ ruling Israel’s separation wall illegal
– the ICJ ruling against the US for illegally mining Managua Harbor in Nicaragua
– US and UK ignoring ICJ opinion on Chagos Islands (aka Diego Garcia)
– criticism of the United Nations
– Turkey’s invasion of Syria
Economic sanction we approve of
– against Iraq (previously)
– against Iran
– against Cuba
– against Venezuela
– against Russia
Economic sanctions we oppose
– BDS against Israel
Protests we support
– in Hong Kong
– the Uighur in China
– anti-Putin protestors in Russia
– the Rohingya in Myanmar
Protests we oppose and ignore
– those concerned about anthropocentric climate change
– freedom and self-determination for West Papuans
– anti-colonial protests by Palestinians
– self-determination for Kurds
– self-determination for Tibet
Terrorists and terrorism we oppose
– A Qaeda
– Hamas
– Hezbollah
– ISIS
– Syrian state terrorism
– Iranian state terrorism
– Taliban
– Boko Haram
Terrorists and terrorism we support
– Free Syrian Army
– Israeli state terrorism
– US state terrorism
– Saudi state terrorism
– UAE state terrorism
– Turkey’s state terrorism against Kurds
Separation walls we oppose
– the Berlin Wall
Separation walls we stay quiet about
– the US-Mexico wall
Separation walls we support
– Israel with the West Bank and Gaza
– US embassy in Jerusalem
Free trade we like and support
– traded commodities
– money
– foreign investment
– tourism
– foreign students (except Chinese spies)
– globalisation
Free trade we oppose
– asylum seekers
– refugees
– immigrants
– anything that undermines our sovereignty (all trade)
– “negative globalism”
Countries which can do anything to us knowing we will always remain faithful
– Israel
– the United States
– Indonesia