The Sydney Morning Herald 15.12.16 ‘(Minister for Foreign Affairs) Julie Bishop accuses China of fuelling ‘tension and mistrust’ by weaponising artificial islands’

But hang on Julie – this is exactly what the US capitalist class has been increasingly doing with Australia. They don’t even have to put a carrier battle group here – Australia will be their ‘stationary aircraft carrier‘ for their ‘feared and revered’ F-22s (not to mention the B-1s – but that’s a bit later).

And what do the Australian people think about the agents of US capital once again threatening China from their soil? Do they feel anything other than their standard pride at being treated so contemptuously?

B-1B bomber

‘US to fly F-22 Raptors in and out of Australia amid South China Sea tensions’

‘The US will begin flying its deadliest fighter plane, the F-22 Raptor, out of northern Australia next year, the most senior American commander in the Pacific has revealed as he warned of a need to show strength to deter aggression in the region.

During a visit to Sydney on Wednesday, the commander of the US Pacific Command, Admiral Harry Harris, vowed the US would remain a major player in the region, saying its “enduring interests” would not “change on January 20th” – referring to the day of Donald Trump’s inauguration as President.

Admiral Harris revealed that he had signed a 2017 agreement for Australia to host US military assets including the Raptors, which are feared and revered as the best fighter planes in the world, and will send a strong signal about US military presence in the region.

“I think that’s positive,” Admiral Harris told the Lowy Institute event.

The greater presence of US air power out of Australia follows on from the rotation of US marines as a way to bolster the alliance and the American footprint at the southern edge of Asia – akin to a stationary aircraft carrier. (my italics)…’

The US capitalist class has only started to lean on the Australians regarding their military plans and requirements. And the Australians only continue to fold.

Further, as another example of the utter hypocrisy of the US capitalist class, the weaponised islands of the US state of Hawaii are situated 3977 km or 2471 miles from California.

US naval base, Pearl Harbour, Hawaii

Images: middle/bottom (I highly recommend clicking on this link and reading the text below this image)