Should Australia Abolish Close Links With the UK and USA - Essay Example

Running head: Australian links with US and UK Australian links with US and UK [Writer’s Name] [Institution’s Name] Australia should abolish close links with the UK and USA Introduction – Historical Perspective: Britain and Australia have been very near to each other, and the main reason could be because Britain helped Australia in its foundation which is why they have given them the name of mother country. In WWII however, relationships started to change, but it started with Churchill British PM, who diverted 6th and 7th Divisions of Australia to put his own army to fight in Burma when Australia needed them for their defence due to the Japanese action of war. Actually this thing happened without consulting Australia but then the then Prime Minister of Australia finally managed to get the troops back home. This started the air of differences between Australia and Britain. However; one other reason that infiltrated this was that whenever Australia needed Britain, it never came ahead but when Britain needed Australia it always came ahead and helped their Mother country founders. Actually this led Mr. Curtin to ask the USA for help and it was then done later in 1941. Now the US had their own gains of driving back the Japanese from whom they had to take a deep revenge for Pearl harbour. They came and recued the Australians from the Japanese. Not only this but their head commander founded his own head office here in Australia – Mc Arthur. However things took a U Turn again and the Australians were now not happy with the views and behaviours of Mc Arthur who devalued Australians’ efforts and did not give them equal rights with his own army. So, finally this led Australia to call upon their Mother country again i.e. Britain and they came for a rescue and the Australian ties with the UK became good again but on a lesser and a more cautious scale. Always Australia had depended on the higher powers of Britain for protection but this time UK was fighting for their own supremacy and survival as we call it from the Nazis in Germany. Therefore the Prime Minister of Australia at that time shifted to the USA for help as Britain wasn’t enough anymore. And Australia actually realised that the USA alone was enough for protection if there was ever a chance of invasion from Japan. However, at the same time Britain did not help Australia when there really was time which actually led the relationship to be weakened. (Christchurchcitylibraries.com, 2007) The Ties & if they really should be there! Australia's relationship between England and the USA endured a critical turning point as a result of the war. When the war broke out in 1939, Australia considered itself apart of the British Empire, and has always supported Britain's interests. So in 1939 when WW11 broke out, Australia declared its support for Britain and troops of the 6th, 7th and 9th battalion were sent to the Middle East, 27000 Australians in the air force were involved in the Empire Air Training Scheme that provided air crews to fight in Britain, and half the Australian navy went to the Mediterranean to assist the war effort. There was always the mutual agreement that if support was required in Australia, Britain would immediately come to her aid. The reality was that when Australia was attacked in 1942, Britain failed to keep their promise to Australia and did not provide support or aid. Australia became aware that they were both vulnerable and alone, and since the British government had neither the will nor power to support Austria, the Australian government turned to the USA. The realisation that the British Empire had failed to support Australia was an important turning point in Australia's relationship with Britain. The USA did come to Australia's aid in 1942 but the motive was very much in America's self interest. Given the danger of Japanese advances from the North and the failure of Britain's support, the Australian government had little choice but to comply with the US military plans and strategy. Britain was no longer considered as Australia's protector and provider but instead America resumed the role. WW11 marked the beginning for Australia's relationship with America that would be further demonstrated through Australia's support to the USA in future wars. ANZUS Treaty is Australia’s alliance with the US which has become formal and official long back finished on 1951.  This treaty basically has a point that says that Australia and the USA will act together to meet the common goals of combating their enemies. It actually got there by Australia and the US government after the attacks of September 11, 2001. (FCO.GOV.UK, 2009) This tie between the US and Australia is the key holder of defence and security cooperation among the two nations. Actually this way Australia not only makes its protection strong b ut more so, it makes good relations with the US which can be beneficial for both of the nations in the long run. This cooperation between Australia and the US is a drive towards fighting the Terrorism together and in an effective manner which can be combated in a superficial way. Also, it caters for the drive to combat the weapons of Mass destruction against Australia and the US. The consultations that occur between the Australian defence and the formal ministers is called AUSMIN.  “Formal consultations among senior officials include policy planning talks, political-military discussions and military-military talks.” (Moorcock, 2006) However; now Australia, the US and Japan have made a trilateral security plan to not fight among each other at any cost. The principal forum for bilateral consultations with the US is AUSMIN. This meeting is normally held annually and it brings along the top defence ministers and the top security official together from both the countries on the same platform to discuss the bilateral ties on a global scale. “The Consultations provide a major opportunity to discuss and share perspectives and approaches on major global and regional political issues, and to deepen bilateral foreign security and defence cooperation” (www.fco.gov.uk, 2008) Australia's fifth largest merchandise export market and their most important market for services is the USA.  Australia's largest import source for services and second largest import source for merchandise is also USA.  The United States is also the largest investor in Australia.  Therefore; Australia is the ninth largest provider of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the United States.  The United States is one of the top five source countries for visitors to Australia in terms of expenses and the huge numbers. (Moorcock, 2006) Conclusion The related searches and the argument above clearly shows that abolishing is not an option for Australia as without the two giant economies of the world, Australia might one day be totally helpless. Therefore; the best thing here could be to keep up the ties and be a little political or may be try to be cooperative by not indulging the gains of the Australian public and gain the best of the relations of the two biggest countries of the world. References www.christchurchcitylibraries.com This is a Library website and includes a huge data of knowledgeable and fact-based information that has been used to compile and complete this Essay. Since the topic is very broad, some broad information has been used to demonstrate the key issue. www.fco.gov.uk (British Foreign and Commonwealth Organisation), this site has a lot of foreign office issues and policies to offer that were very helpful in framing the mindset in completing this piece. Mckechnie, G 2009, USA 101, Random House, Melbourne Australia. Moorcock, M 2006, Jerusalem Commands, Random House, Melbourne Australia (These two books were chosen from one of the largest Publishing House in Melbourne as it contains some fine Authors’ work about the subject matter. Though these books are NOT directly related but they present the ideas and the information about Australian ties with both UK and USA in a manner that has been defined in a proper manner in this piece.) http://www.dfat.gov.au (Australian Department of Foreign Affairs), this site is comprehensive and detailed about the past and future relations between Australia, UK and USA. Therefore; this site was chosen to get bits and pieces of information to compile them into a relevant piece. Read More