Donald Trump is not an aberration, but rather a symptom of the disease, not its cause.

His election for a second term, an authoritarian racist and convicted felon, highlights the decay of the US empire domestically and internationally.

It is surely high time for the Australian Government to abandon the dangerous illusion that being tied hand and foot to the US as we presently are, provides us with security and protection.

We need a fundamentally different foreign policy orientation, one which prioritises engagement with our regional neighbours on the basis of equality, mutual respect and mutual benefit. We are, as Professor Clinton Fernandes put it, an island off the coast of Asia and our future lies in this region, not in alliances with Anglo-Saxon countries on the other side of the planet in security agreements such as AUKUS.

Adopting a policy of neutrality and non-alignment will keep Australia out of foreign wars.

Joining the community of non-aligned nations will genuinely enhance our security. Joining ASEAN and working constructively within it would be a natural consequence of living in this region.

This new orientation will become possible only when Australia breaks free of the US military alliance and becomes a truly independent, sovereign and responsible nation. There is growing support for a move in this direction.

An ABC poll published on 27 April found that “two-thirds of Australians say the United States can’t be trusted as a security ally and want to develop a more independent defence capacity, in a dramatic shift since President Donald Trump reclaimed the White House".

There are different ideas about what it means for Australia to become independent. There are those who think Australia should act as a middle power or higher, and seek to project power and influence in the region on behalf of the dominant corporate interests in Australia, as the Howard Government did in East Timor on behalf of Woodside Petroleum.

Others, such as the Independent and Peaceful Australia Network, see a neutral and independent Australia becoming a force for peace in our region. This means building friendly, co-operative and mutually beneficial relations with all countries, including in trade, and with emphasis on diplomacy to resolve disputes in order to prevent them escalating to the point of open hostility.

Indeed, IPAN’s alternative defence policy makes diplomacy the first line of defence.

In the event of diplomacy failing to prevent Australia becoming threatened by an armed adversary, IPAN believes a self -defence force suitably equipped and trained would be necessary for territorial defence of Australia and its approach waters. IPAN’s policy would preclude this self-defence force being deployed in overseas wars except, where appropriate, in support of UN peace-keeping operations.

In IPAN’s view, an independent Australia would seek to be far more self-sufficient and self-reliant as a means of enhancing our security in times of international conflict and crisis. Publicly owned defence industries would be necessary to support our self-defence forces.

What circumstances will move Australia to take steps in the direction of independence?

It is becoming ever clearer that the security environment based on US-dominated Western military alliances is breaking up and is a major cause of insecurity and conflict. This becomes more evident by the day, as Trump and his administration make crystal clear the fact that US foreign policy is determined solely by naked self-interest.

How should we go about moving Australia towards independence and out of the US military alliance? There are a number of steps that could be taken, some more straightforward than others.

A relatively easy first step would be for the government to sign and ratify the Treaty for Prohibition of NuclearWeapons. According to surveys done by the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, nearly 80% of Australians want to see this treaty signed and ratified. A necessary consequence of this would be the closure of the Relay Ground Station at Pine Gap, which supports US nuclear war-fighting capabilities.

Another crucial step is cancellation of Australia’s involvement in the AUKUS security agreement, both pillar 1 and pillar 2. This pact is part of the preparations for a US war on China. Far from enhancing our security, AUKUS will draw us into such a war should it break out. A war with China, our major trading partner, will be a disaster for our economy, with loss of jobs, shortages of everyday items and serious divisions in the community. AUKUS can be cancelled by the government giving the partners to the agreement one year’s notice.

A third step would be termination of the US- Australia Force Posture Agreement.

The FPA gives the U.S military a heavy footprint on the Australian continent and enables it to plan, launch and sustain military operations from our soil, operations which would inevitably involve the ADF given that it is now so closely integrated with the US military as to be almost operationally indistinguishable from it.

The FPA provides for unimpeded access by the US military to agreed areas and facilities such as our seaports for its warships and nuclear submarines, our airfields for its military aircraft, including nuclear-capable B-52 bombers stationed at RAAF Tindal as well as fuel, maintenance and munitions stores distributed in various parts of Australia. The FPA underpins the annual stationing of 2500 or more US Marines in Darwin for training and war exercises with the ADF.

The FPA can be terminated by Australia giving the US 12 month’s notice.

IPAN is presently planning a campaign to develop support across Australia for the ending of AUKUS and the FPA.