At a very well attended meeting at Glover Cottages on 25 November,Malcolm Fraser was invited by AIIA NSW President Richard Broinowski toengage in a conversation about his latest book Dangerous Allies (MUP 2014).

Richard recalled that Malcolm had begun his political career as a High Tory, a fierce Cold War warrior wedded to the US containment of the USSR, but one who in later years changed his views and argued that Australia faced more danger with America as its ally than it could expect as a country independent of American protection, as  he explained in his latest book. Why was this?

Malcolm responded that when the world was bi-polar, the United States was constrained and balanced by the Soviet Union, convinced that the United States and its allies had to contain Soviet aggression. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, no such aggression or constraints existed, and US exceptionalism was given free reign. Washington had double standards about who were its enemies and its friends.  The US gave no favours to the latter, and would not reward loyalty to an ally unless this was in America’sbest interests. Over the years, the ANZUS treaty was invested by Australians with properties it did not have. It simply stipulates that if US or Australian forces are attacked in the Pacific area, each country will consider how to react. The Treaty contains no guarantee of military support. Nor, judging from US failure to support Australia against Indonesia three times in recent history, could we expect US military support in any situation not judged to be in US interests.

Meanwhile, Malcolm said, Australian enmeshment with United States military forces means that if the United States went to war, including against China, Australia would have no option but to join it. US forces trained in the Northern Territory, US Marines  are based in Darwin, US telecommunications bases in Australia are used to direct illegal drone attacks on targets chosen by the US. A RAN unit HMAS Sydney,  is semi-permanently engaged as part of the US Pacific Fleet, senior Australian soldiers have participated in joint US-ROK military exercises off Korea, andan Australian officer is at present second in command of the US Army in the Pacific. Australia’s safest course consonant with its national security, is to disengage from such enmeshment, and develop an independent foreign and defence policy.

Richard asked how Dangerous Allies had been received by the Canberra establishment. Malcolm said the whole issue had been obscured and shelved by political institutions like the Lowy Institute and the Murdoch media. Networks and value systems set up in past ages remained unchanged. Meanwhile, President Obama twice disregarded a diplomatic convention while a guest in Australia by attacking third countries, Russian adventures in Ukraine, and Chinese arrogance in the Western Pacific. Noting that in the past, Washington had overthrown, or caused to be overthrown, governments which it felt prejudiced US interests, would Washington seek to do this to an Australian government which sought to disengage from the US embrace by asking for bases or US forces to be removed from our soil? Malcolm replied by suggesting that if we asked the US to remove its bases, Australia would at the least  create a debate in America. But the likelihood of this ever happening was slim. The defence class and both major political parties in Australia were out of touch with what was becoming the opinion of a majority of Australians.