Summer 2007

Militarising the Pacific

The Bush administration has spent trillions of dollars to expand a war machine that has already outstripped the rest of the world combined. The report, Rebuilding America’s Defense, drawn up by the neo-conservative Project for the New American Century, said in 2000 that the US military’s task is to “preserve American pre-eminence through the coming transformation of war made possible by new technologies”.

Fighting the militarisation of Guam

Guam is the southern most island of the Marianas Island Chain, in Micronesia. The native people of Guam call themselves and their language Chamoru. Chamorus have a history of strength and survival and the fact that they still call themselves Chamoru testifies to their strength and the survival of their people. The people of Guam are not unified around the current military buildup.

The original militarisation of Hawai‘i was driven by the desire of US leaders to access markets and resources in Asia and was amplified by their ideology of white supremacy. In the 19th Century, the independent Kingdom of Hawai‘i had entered into treaties with many other nations, including the US, Great Britain and France.

The Anti-Bases Campaign (AABCC) was involved in the APEC demonstrations on both days. On the first day Friday September 7, we participated in what was called the ‘Festival'. The People's Alternative to APEC Festival in Hyde Park on Friday received less publicity than the excellent march on Saturday but it was a worthwhile and positive contribution to the events publicising opposition to the APEC agenda. It was smaller than hoped, perhaps because of the endless rain, the government intimidation and people's intention to march the next day. However, the speakers and entertainment were warmly appreciated and many people did visit the Festival. The Campaign ran stalls and contributed to the committee organising the event.

On Saturday September 8 th , again Anti-Bases was present and the Coordinator spoke at the conclusion of the rally. He spoke about the need to end the US-Australian military alliance and the recent Tripartite agreement between the US, Japan and Australia. These moves in the Asia-Pacific region mean that the US is moving to ‘contain' or even threaten China. Obviously there is no intention in the region for peace and social justice to reign rather we face the prospect of resisting more and more warmongering. These recent moves at APEC by the US, Australia, and Japan are a very backward step.

	Top: Julie Marlow at the Anti-Bases stall on September 7 at the APEC Festival. Left: Hannah Middleton (Anti-Bases spokesperson on Star Wars) at the September 8 anti-APEC demonstrations.