There’s still no stopping our boy from Bankstown
When Paul Keating thrusts himself into the centre of a foreign affairs discussion you can expect fireworks. His language is never soft and gentle, mirroring the man speaking it.
Ever since I have known him he has refrained from embracing the US too fulsomely. The question is, does he look too benignly upon an increasingly aggressive China?
Building new islands in the epicentre of the South China Sea and installing military establishments on them is deliberately provocative given how important the sea lands in that part of the world are.
To date there has been no attempt to interfere with shipping in these waters by the Chinese but that won’t stop the rest of the world viewing the stance China has taken here as unnecessarily aggressive and guaranteed to force retaliatory moves from those who feel threatened.
The world is always better off when there are no flashpoints, which are akin to powder kegs too close to flames.
Keating makes the point that Australia is not bound by any treaty to come to the aid of Taiwan if it were ever under attack from China. The US could not ignore an attack on Taiwan and would be forced to respond, and that would directly endanger all of Asia and Southeast Asia, including Australia.
Judging Chinese intent is never easy. Because of domestic concerns the Chinese have little choice other than to maintain their rhetoric at 10 on the Richter scale of aggression. The People’s Liberation Army sits behind the politicians with all its might and capability held in check.
Real politics would suggest to me, however, that if the US went to Taiwan’s aid and asked for Australia’s assistance it would be difficult for Australia to turn down such a request from our main ally and protector.
Of course from China’s point of view this would be an extraordinary gamble. The reality of a full-blown war between China and the US is that a huge chunk of the world would face the possibility of oblivion.
For all of us who have ever been to any of Australia’s casinos, we have seen that the tables and machines have a huge number of Asian faces playing them. It underlines just how closely intertwined we are to the region.
In his private life, Keating never gambles and would be lucky to have heard of any Australian race other than the Melbourne Cup. The Everest horse race would probably have not yet come to his attention.
In politics he self-styled himself as “crazy brave” and often lived up to that description. From his early days in the ALP Youth Council he displayed a ruthlessness that carried him through a tough preselection in the western Sydney seat of Blaxland at the tender age of 25.
There was no stopping the boy from Bankstown. He elbowed aside older party members who had been lining themselves up for the seat.
His great rule in preselection was to add up the number of people who swore on the heads of their grandchildren that they would vote for you and then deduct 15 per cent. The formula served him well.
Keating has been outstanding in his public life because his intellect is stellar and his resolve unshakeable.
He may irritate you as the self-appointed judge of architecture in the City of Sydney but he remains a huge part of life in the city.
Mind you, he hated the Finger Wharf development in Sydney and it has proved to be one of the city’s most popular venues. Nonetheless, this bloke is a giant and history will treat him very well indeed.
Read related topics:China Ties