news

Former Australian Prime Minister Keating: Australia's joining Ocus is the worst agreement, "the current Australian government has sold it to the United States"

2024-08-09

한어Русский языкEnglishFrançaisIndonesianSanskrit日本語DeutschPortuguêsΕλληνικάespañolItalianoSuomalainenLatina

[Global Times Comprehensive Report] On the evening of the 8th, former Australian Prime Minister Keating appeared on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) current affairs talk show "7.30", criticizing the current government's defense and foreign policies for abandoning the traditional values ​​of the Labor Party.

File photo of former Australian Prime Minister Keating Source: Visual China

Australian Defense Minister Marrs and Foreign Minister Penny Wong recently visited the United States to attend the Australia-US "2+2" talks. According to ABC, the White House confirmed that Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States have reached another important "Ocus milestone". During Marrs' visit to the United States, the Australian government and Ocus partners made undisclosed "political commitments" in a new agreement to transfer nuclear technology to Australia. On the 8th, Keating criticized that Australia's joining "Ocus" and being tied to the United States and Britain was "the worst agreement in history". Regarding this partnership allowing the United States to rotate more troops to the region, Keating said, "The current government is equivalent to selling it to the United States." He believes that instead of being protected by an "aggressive ally" like the United States, Australia might as well rely on itself. When asked by the host why he said the United States was "aggressive", Keating said, "The United States is trying to dictate to China, the largest Asian power, from the Atlantic."

On the Taiwan issue, Keating is deeply concerned about the current Australian government's ties with the United States. He said that the Americans say they want to protect Taiwan, but in fact Taiwan is China's "property"; if a war breaks out in the Taiwan Strait, the Americans will not fight with all their might, "and if the United States suddenly withdraws, we will have to bear all the blame."

As a former Labor leader, Keating has always been critical of "Okus". He said on the show that the Labor government led by the current Prime Minister Albanese is not like a Labor government in terms of defense and diplomacy, but has inherited the mantle of Morrison's Liberal government. He sarcastically said that the United States held a reception on the lawn of the White House and let the Australian leaders "fall". "These idiots love this!" (Zhen Xiang)