The Hegemon Is Past Its Prime
Military cooperation with the United States is ruinously expensive without any guarantees.
The United States has recently increased its presence in the Asia-Pacific region. For instance, in March of this year, plans were made for the transfer of nuclear-powered submarines to Canberra via the AUKUS bloc established in 2021. In February, the US and Philippine authorities agreed that the US military would have access to four more bases in the country (increasing their number to nine). Also, on April 12, representatives from Washington and Manila agreed to strengthen defense cooperation. On May 22, the US and Papua New Guinea signed a defense cooperation treaty giving the Pentagon unlimited access to a number of ports and airfields of the Pacific nation.
Experts say Australia will have to pay about $350 billion over the next 20 years to bring its ambitious militaristic plans into action. It is not yet known exactly how these funds will be allocated by item of expenditure (purchase of submarines, construction of production and service infrastructure, training of personnel, etc.). However, it is already clear that this project will not be an easy ride for Canberra’s public financial system and, consequently, for the Australian population, which is highly dependent on mineral exports. Canberra has not yet begun transactions in execution of contracts with its AUKUS partners (laws to make this possible have just been submitted to the US Congress for approval) yet it has already encountered economic difficulties. And the crisis, it appears, is so severe that the Australian government has to resort to “anti-capitalist” methods of direct regulation of the most important export industry – production and trade of natural gas, namely, to administratively set a ceiling on domestic gas prices and limit exports, coming into conflict with the largest foreign hydrocarbon-producing corporations.
Things are no better for another of the US’s oldest military and political allies in the region, the Philippines. A significant increase in defense cooperation with Washington is not bringing the apparently expected tangible positive changes in the country’s economic situation (the way it still does in the case of South Korea and Japan). It is not for nothing that the President of the Philippines said on May 22 that his administration is considering introducing ration cards in the country in order to provide for the minimum food needs of its 3 million citizens.
The most recent news from Thailand is likewise discouraging. Under the pretext of “unpreparedness of ground facilities and maintenance system in the kingdom,” Washington denied Bangkok, another of its “major allies,” the delivery of ten F-35 fighter jets already ordered and advanced, outlining the prospects of deliveries in a decade.
Following that is economically weak Papua New Guinea, which appears to demand more economic returns in exchange for its obedience than the three countries listed above. However, there are doubts as military collaboration with Washington has recently resulted only in expenses.
