PRIME MINISTER STEPHEN HARPER’s TRIP TO CHINA AND CANADA’S ENEMIES

Don Currie, Editor FOS

January 11, 2012

Prime Minister Stephen Harper will visit China next month promoting the sale of Canadian oil to China and according to media reports, seeking more Chinese investment in Canadian energy projects. Harper will also be seeking to advance the government’s plan to join the US backed Asia-Pacific free trade agreement known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership.[1]

The media speculates that the trip represents a change in the Harper Government’s heretofore hostile attitude to China. During the January 2006 federal election campaign, desperate to garner all right-wing anti-communist voters available, Harper on several occasions denounced China’s “human rights record” implying that it must change before he would visit and China-Canadian relations could improve.

As soon as he achieved a Parliamentary majority the rhetoric cooled and diplomatic channels between Canada and China began to open up.

Does this cooling of rhetoric represent a change in the Harper Government’s strategic view of China and the struggle underway for US dominance over rivals in the Asian-Pacific region?  

On December 07, 2011 standing next to President Obama announcing a new border security deal between Canada and the USA the Prime Minister said:

 “What threatens the security and well-being of the United States threatens the security and well-being of Canada…Canada has no friends among America's enemies.” [2]

One wonders why some journalist or opposition member of Parliament not asked the Prime Minister as he  heads for China in February; is China an enemy or friend of the USA?

Harper’s statement in Washington regarding Canada’s friends and enemies has to be considered in the light of what the USA is saying about friends and enemies in the Asian-Pacific.

Here is what President Obama said to the Australian Parliament last November regarding US strategic aims in the Asian-Pacific region that contained specific reference to China. In fact it would not be an exaggeration to consider the speech a statement of US policy in the region regarding the rise of China: President Obama said:

“As President, I have therefore made a deliberate and strategic decision - as a Pacific nation, the United States will play a larger and long-term role in shaping this region and its future, by upholding core principles and in close partnership with allies and friends.

“Let me tell you what this means.

“First, we seek security, which is the foundation of peace and prosperity. We stand for an international order in which the rights and responsibilities of all nations and people are upheld. Where international law and norms are enforced. Where commerce and freedom of navigation are not impeded. Where emerging powers contribute to regional security, and where disagreements are resolved peacefully.

“That is the future we seek.

“Now, I know that some in this region have wondered about America's commitment to upholding these principles. So let me address this directly.

“As the United States puts our fiscal house in order, we are reducing our spending. And yes, after 'a decade of extraordinary growth in our military budgets - and as we definitively end the war in Iraq, and begin to wind down the war in Afghanistan - we will make some reductions in defence spending.

“As we consider the future of our armed forces, we have begun a review that will identify our most important strategic interests and guide our defence priorities and spending over the coming decade.

“So here is what this region must know.

“As we end today's wars, I have directed my national security team to make our presence and mission in the Asia Pacific a top priority. As a result, reductions in US defence spending will not - I repeat, will not - come at the expense of the Asia Pacific.

“My guidance is clear.

“As we plan and budget for the future, we will allocate the resources necessary to maintain our strong military presence in this region.

“We will preserve our unique ability to project power and deter threats to peace. We will keep our commitments, including our treaty obligations to allies like Australia.

“And we will constantly strengthen our capabilities to meet the needs of the 21st century. Our enduring interests in the region demand our enduring presence in this region.

“The United States is a Pacific power, and we are here to stay.

“Indeed, we're already modernising America's defence posture across the Asia-Pacific.

“It will be more broadly distributed - maintaining our strong presence in Japan and on the Korean peninsula, while enhancing our presence in Southeast Asia.

“Our posture will be more flexible - with new capabilities to ensure that our forces can operate freely. And our posture will be more sustainable - by helping allies and partners build their capacity, with more training and exercises.

“We see our new posture here in Australia.

“The initiatives that the Prime Minister and I announced yesterday will bring our two militaries even closer. We'll have new opportunities to train with other allies and partners, from the Pacific to the Indian Ocean.

“And it will allow us to respond faster to the full range of challenges, including humanitarian crises and disaster relief.

“Since World War II, Australians have warmly welcomed American service members who've passed through.

“On behalf of the American people, I thank you for welcoming those who will come next, as they ensure that our alliance stays strong and ready for the tests of our time.

“We see America's enhanced presence in the alliances we've strengthened.

“In Japan, where our alliance remains a cornerstone of regional security. In Thailand, where we're partnering for disaster relief.

“In the Philippines, where we're increasing ship visits and training. And in South Korea, where our commitment to the security of the Republic of Korea will never waver.

“Indeed, we also reiterate our resolve to act firmly against any proliferation activities by North Korea.

“The transfer of nuclear materials or material by North Korea to states or non-state entities would be considered a grave threat to the United States and our allies.

“And we would hold North Korea fully accountable for the consequences of such action.

“We see America's enhanced presence across Southeast Asia.

“In our partnership with Indonesia against piracy and violent extremism, and in our work with Malaysia to prevent proliferation.

“In the ships we'll deploy to Singapore, and in our closer cooperation with Vietnam and Cambodia. And in our welcome of India as it "looks east" and plays a larger role as an Asian power.

“At the same time, we're re-engaged with regional organisations.

“Our work in Bali this week will mark my third meeting with ASEAN leaders, and I'll be proud to be the first American president to attend the East Asia Summit.

“Together, I believe we can address shared challenges, such as proliferation and maritime security, including cooperation in the South China Sea.

“Meanwhile, the United States will continue our effort to build a cooperative relationship with China.

“All of our nations - Australia, the United States, all of our nations - have a profound interest in the rise of a peaceful and prosperous China-and that is why the United States welcomes it.

“We've seen that China can be a partner, from reducing tensions on the Korean Peninsula to preventing proliferation.

“And we'll seek more opportunities for cooperation with Beijing, including greater communication between our militaries to promote understanding and avoid miscalculation.

“We will do this, even as continue to speak candidly to Beijing about the importance of upholding international norms and respecting the universal human rights of the Chinese people.

“A secure and peaceful Asia is the foundation for the second area in which America is leading again - and that's advancing our shared prosperity.

“History teaches us the greatest force the world has ever known for creating wealth and opportunity is free markets.

“So we seek economies that are open and transparent.

“We seek trade that is free and fair. And we seek an open international economic system, where rules are clear and every nation plays by them.

“In Australia and America, we understand these principles. We're among the most open economies on earth.

“Six years into our landmark trade agreement, commerce between us has soared.

“Our workers are creating new partnerships and new products, like the advanced aircraft technologies we build together in Victoria.

“We're the leading investor in Australia, and you invest more in America than you do in any other nation, creating good jobs in both countries.

“We recognise that economic partnerships can't just be about one nation extracting another's resources.

“We understand that no long-term strategy for growth can be imposed from above.

“Real prosperity - prosperity that fosters innovation and prosperity that endures - comes from unleashing our greatest economic resource and that's the entrepreneurial spirit, the talents of our people.

“So even as America competes aggressively in Asian markets, we're forging the economic partnerships that create opportunity for all.

“Building on our historic trade agreement with South Korea, we're working with Australia and our other APEC partners to create a seamless regional economy.

“And with Australia and other partners, we're on track to achieve our most ambitious trade agreement yet, and a potential model for the entire region-the Trans-Pacific Partnership.”[3]

We have deliberately quoted President Obama’s speech at length because it needs to be carefully studied as it is a frank statement of the intention of the US to build up a larger military presence in the whole region, including provocatively in the South China Sea adjacent China’s territorial waters.

Since making the speech, the US military presence in the region has been growing and US think tanks are beginning to develop a full range of arguments as to why the USA must increase its military presence in the in the Asian-Pacific region. China has protested over the US buildup near Taiwan and China and Vietnam and predictably has increased its naval defenses in South China Sea.[4]

What is important to note in Harper’s intention to seek Canadian membership in the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement is that China is excluded. The agreement is headed for finalization by the end of 2012. Canadian membership in a trading partnership, dominated by the USA in which China is excluded will be viewed by China with suspicion and skepticism.

Canadians have always had friendly and cordial relations with China. Canada was among the first NATO states to recognize China and has benefited greatly over the decades from improved trade. One wonders as the Prime Minister sits down with the leaders of China how he will explain his support for US strategic policy in the Asian Pacific and in particular his government’s hostile stance toward the Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea (DPRK) and ally of China and according to President Obama an enemy of the USA?  Canada imposed heavy sanctions on North Korea in 2011.[5]

Prime Minister Harper’s rhetoric about Canada having no friends among the enemies of the USA is the kind of provocative and irresponsible statement that has led our country into three NATO wars in the last twenty two years and now possibly others with Iran and Syria.

The Prime Minister’s hyperbole places our country in hostile opposition to most of global public opinion and innumerable governments and states that disapprove and resist US imperialist global and military strategic goals. The Prime Minister is wrong and irresponsible to make such exaggerated statements.

Canada should not join the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement and develop its own independent and mutually beneficial trade relations with China irrespective of the global strategic aims of the USA in the Asian Pacific.

The USA is provoking an imperialist confrontation with China in the Asian Pacific and is seeking allies in that purpose. Canada should not be part of it.