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Three months ago, the American President insulted the Australian Prime Minister.<\/p>\nThree months ago, the American President insulted the Australian Prime Minister.<\/p>\n
In the now infamous telephone call, the Prime Minister might\u2019ve managed the asylum seekers issue more nimbly. But he didn\u2019t deserve what was dished up to him. President Trump did not just have a \u2018frank\u2019 or \u2018robust\u2019 conversation with Mr Turnbull. He was talking as President to Prime Minister, not as one man to another in a bar. In such circumstances, his behavior publicly impugned Australian national dignity.<\/p>\n
While Anzac Day can sometimes take on a flavour of mawkish sentimentality, the degree to which we honour it indicates that Australians take national dignity more seriously than our sardonic humour might suggest.<\/p>\n
So, doesn\u2019t it seem a bit odd that Mr Turnbull should this week be standing alongside President Trump celebrating past glories and a spirit of mateship as if nothing had happened?<\/p>\n
There\u2019s a story of a small boy who, having been humiliated by a bully in front of other boys, asked his father what to do about it. The parent advised his son to avoid the bully, but if pushed, to stand up to him. He also told the boy not to worry about his popularity with the other boys. That would come with respect.<\/p>\n
Mr Turnbull should ponder that. You don\u2019t run after bullies. They smell obsequiousness. At worst they bully again. At best they respond with benevolent condescension. They have you where they want you. And for a country which claims to pride itself on its independence, that isn\u2019t the place for Australia to be.<\/p>\n
And even if Mr Trump were a nice fellow, we should still reflect on the nature of our relationship with the United States. America\u2019s a great and inspiring country and the people who rise to the top of it are generally capable and farsighted. Americans tend to like us because of a partially accurate perception that our national qualities are similar to their own. But in the end, as they should, they put their own interests first. Single minded loyalty by an ally to the US doesn\u2019t necessarily engender reciprocity.<\/p>\n
Allies can differ from Americans and remain allies. Neither Britain nor Canada were in Vietnam. Canada, France and others in NATO were not American partners in the first Iraq war. We must keep those two factors at the front of our minds in the testing months ahead.<\/p>\n
For all that the new king in Washington might\u2019ve assembled good men around him, he remains an untested and untrusted king. So it\u2019s more incumbent than ever on the Australian leadership to use its own judgment about our international posture. We can’t adopt the posture of a deputy sheriff, to use the term falsely but damagingly attributed to John Howard.<\/p>\n
We\u2019re already doing much with the US in Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq. Even if the argument\u2019s accepted that such contributions are in Australia\u2019s national interest, it\u2019s hard to argue that we need to do more, given that we already exceed the contributions of most NATO countries closer to those theatres.<\/p>\n
And as storm clouds gather over Northeast Asia, we should eschew any precipitate enthusiasm for military options. It\u2019s perhaps a sign of the times, and a harbinger of things to come, that we\u2019re looking to China\u2019s influence as the primary lever in an effort to dismantle the North Korean stalemate.<\/p>\n
Australian leaders of stature have expressed concern about Australia\u2019s increased tilt towards surrogate status since 9\/11. These include the late Malcolm Fraser, Gareth Evans and Bob Carr. Only last week Paul Keating opined that: ‘one thing not to do with the Americans is keep bowing down.’<\/p>\n
While other Australians might disagree with these men politically, few would suggest that they were other than Australian nationalists who think deeply about our role in the world.<\/p>\n
And surrogacy doesn\u2019t impact only on Australian self-respect. It affects how we\u2019re regarded elsewhere in the region.<\/p>\n
In the wake of that telephone call, it would\u2019ve been better to have the next leaders\u2019 exchange at an international meeting at what\u2019s euphemistically termed \u2018a mutually convenient time\u2019. \u00a0In the meantime, we could\u2019ve worked with Pence, Mattis and the rest.<\/p>\n
Instead, we\u2019ve waited for the summons we encouraged. Let\u2019s hope we can still rescue a modicum of self-esteem.<\/p>\n
In 2011, in the wake of President Obama\u2019s announcement about the use of Darwin by US marines, Malcolm Turnbull, then in opposition, questioned \u00a0‘extravagant professions of loyalty in relation to the United States\u2019 and ‘dewy eyed fascination with the leader of the free world\u2019.<\/p>\n
In terms of the intertwined concepts of national interest and national dignity, Mr Turnbull got it right in 2011. Let\u2019s hope he still has the courage of those convictions when caught up in the hype of celebration of our alliance on an American warship in New York.<\/p>\n
You don\u2019t run after bullies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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