Headquarters of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute in Canberra. Image: Nick-D CC BY-SA 3.0
Pests, Hacker attacks, massive calls: An Australian Think Tank drives a wedge into the relationships of both countries and benefits from the new Security Policy Australia
"Australia is the United States Aid Shore", once said the Australian Prime Minister John Howard. Twenty-year-olds later has changed in this situation: the Chinese Global Times should have written according to some media reports "Giantanguru" be the "Watchdog in the USA", When the United States repeatedly accused China, which causes pandemic and to have the originally veiled, and agreed to Australia. Although the Chinese government only quoted a Weibo post, but also in the official press conferences of the Chinese Au-Abin Ministry, the speakers are increasingly reacting to the keywords Coronavirus, Xinjiang, Hong Kong, 5g, Huawei and Sudchinese Sea.
In the Causa Corona sent the "Dragon" to the "Kangaroo" A unmistakable sign and dear Canberra traces, who is economically dependent by whom. China is Australia’s big trading partner for goods and services, around a quarter of all Australian exports go to China. On 12. May China stopped calling "Health ies" The import of beef from four coarse Australian battlethofen. Fif days later, China’s penalty of more than 80% raised to Australian barley imports due to alleged "Dumping". The important raw materials sector — two-thirds of the overall trade volume — remained initially untouched: mainly iron ore, coal and LNG worth about 100 billion. dollar.
Healthy economic relations with China are currently more important than ever for Australia, as the country is confronted with a pandemic-related recession. Meanwhile, China threatens to tackle further damage, warns his burgs before traveling to Australia and advice from studying Australian universities. A quarter of all Australian tourism revenues, about $ 12 billion, come from the pockets of 1.4 million Chinese tourists. Australian universities are also dependent on Chinese students who pay for half of all study of foreign students.
To the already as "Trading War 2.0" Predicted were security policy then. In June, the Australian Government reported a massive hacker attack on state and private facilities took place. Prime Minister Scott Morrison spoke of one "Highly developed state cyber actor", but did not call a name. The consideration Australian media catering on Peter Jennings, Chefjennings had a good reason to suspend China: A report of his Think tank had a week before that Twitter over 20.000 as "Pro-Chinese" classified accounts removed. In addition, ASPI Australia’s Word Manager is a narrative that represents China in the region as Aggressor.
ASPIS new role
In Western media, the ASPI gives a good reputation. Often the thinking industry provides the existing facts and facts, as well as analysts and scientists with all kinds of stories over the past in the Chinese society, which the west can rise morally. ASPI has existed since 2001 as according to own information independent Think tank, which wants to clause the Australian and international public about political-strategic topics. Until about 2017, for a security policy, cavity — analyzes too broad-based topics of Australian Aufpolitik, including strategies and options of coexistence with the emerging economic power China in the Indo-Pacific Room.
From 2018 the focus was reduced. Since then, Aspi has not reported any other topic as much as the Chinese society, their leadership and their projects. In addition to the reports, ASPI began to uniform opinion article in which Jennings and leading conservative analysts are clearly interfering from China: the land is one of the "brought threats for world peace". It is no longer just about China’s economic power, but for topics that the speakers of the Chinese Au — Ministry of Vehement as interference in domestic policy or simply as nonsense. In addition, human rights violations in Chinese minority policy, Xi Jinpings party policy, Hong Kong’s security law, China’s growing influence on neighboring democracies, relations with Russia, censorship and cyber monitoring at home and abroad, Huawei and 5g, Cyber attacks and not least recent and militarization the Sudchinese islands. Short: Aspi went less about Australia than many of China’s role in the Indo-Pacific.
Jennings formulates this in many opinion articles: China wool the Asia-Pacific room "dominate", China under Xi Jinping is "The biggest challenge for the global stability", Become australia "not only passively hunted by China" and ASPI work "at national and international level on answers, which will strongly become our skills, if we put ourselves the big strategic challenge for democracy since the case of the Soviet Union." Of the "aggressor" China is "a threat for Australia and Lander throughout the region."
Successful provocation
Aspi, in the last two years, contributed to an expansion of the fight rhetoric and seems to have made a nerve. In June, the Chinese Ministry of Aufs responded allergic to Aspis’s youngest publications:
"China has pointed out several times that this institute has long been funded by the US government and arms handles. It is enthusiastic in inventing and playing up anti-China stories. Since it enters the allegation of the slander of China, it has no creditance of which one could speak. There is no factual basis for the attack and the allegations of this institute, only nonsense."
"The institute has been a long-term funds from the US government and armed dealers and has excited anti-China topics and excited. It is thus penetrated by ideological prejudices that there is an antichinese "vanguard" becomes what leads to serious doubts about his academic integration."
Chinese media gradually moved and cited critics of Australian and American security policy. At CGTN, Shaun said purely from the China Market Research Group: "The US uses Australia as a proxy to lock China".
Xinhua reported in several articles on the "Denkfabrik behind the anti-China propaganda" and questioned aspis supposed independence. ASPI run "a bugged line of China to raise the scary index and to allow it to sell his donors to sell more weapons to Lander in Asia-Pacific". Xinhua also quoted Bob Carr, the former sword Minister of Australia, who said ASPI Summore one "One-sided, pro-American view of the world", as well as the ex-ambassador in China Geoff Raby, who said: "I consider [ASPI] as the architect of China threat theory in Australia." Last Splitter Chinese Media Eleven "Lugian Australian politicians and media" on.
Australia increases his defense budget
"The truth is that ASPI receive funds from the US Affairs Ministry and American Station Companies. But as a rule, the critics exercise the exhaust, in which this is the case. And is crucial that they never provide compelling arguments to expose the research of the ASPI", Commented on the conservative US magazine National Review China’s media offensive.
Even independent Australian media such as APAC News see aspis role critical. Aspi benefit financially from the narrative, China as a threat. ASPI is also financed by the governments of the Great Britain, Japan and Taiwan and NATO. Aspi gets commission of weapons manufacturers Lockheed Martin, Bae Systems, Raytheon or Northrop Grumman.
When Australia introduced his new defense budget, Aspis China-Narratives have paid off, it’s up to Apac News. On the 30th. June Read Prime Minister Morrison to invest additional 185 billion US dollars in the expansion of its military skills. Morrison explained the strategy for Australia to prepare for a world after Covid-19, the "Armer, dangerous and disordered" may be. On the long order list of American weapons manufacturers are long-range missiles, satellite monitoring, attack submarines, ultrasonic weapons and other defense technologies.
In the media was the new budget as "a significant change in its defense strategy", around "China’s threat to counter in the indopacific room", commented. The budget for Cyber security is to be quantified by a number of billion dollars to protect the land from hacker attacks. Even Jennings reported to speak: "If you talk about the bad behavior in the region, the annexation of territories, rehabilitation and influence of domestic policy, the use of cyber attacks — there is really just a country that does this on an industrial level, and that is the People’s Republic of China."
ASPI received not only by the Australian Government funds for advisory services, but also by Lockheed Martin, which concluded a contract via AGM-158C long-distance anti-ship missiles (LRASM) worth 800 million out-of-dollars.