A new Guardian video maps the US military footprint across Australia. The research was done by the Nautilus Institute, which found huge American access to Australian facilities. Some analysts now call the situation an 'colonisation' of the military estate.
The map shows the US military can access more than half of Australia's military facilities. It also shows the top places where US soldiers, jets and spy systems operate. The flagship is Pine Gap, the secretive joint Australian-US listening centre in the Northern Territory.
The video asks a sharp question: could such a close US ties drag Australia unwillingly into a war? It is part of the Guardian's bigger investigation into defense conditions behind the long alliance.
π The Backstory
Pine Gap was set up by the CIA in 1966 as a joint American-Australian base. It is secret, based in something called signals to collect intelligence and spy on the region's communications. Pine Gap is just one of the bases on the map.
For 60 years, Australia and the US have shared a defence deal, and the base has grown and grown. The map helps show clearly what was often hidden, the physical spread of the US across the nation. Analysts who spy in the topic say the change is not a case.
This room of report landed at the same as and the grass roots Labor group called for a more independent foreign policy. The video is a visual tool for this big national debate. It has re-started channels about sovereignty, near the America's power the Pacific.
π― Why It Matters
Most Australians don't see or realise how much a US military presence is around them. This video shows the base map that affects diplomacy, peace and the risk of war. It brings the security debate back to people in their daily life.
A new Guardian video maps the US military footprint across Australia. The research was done by the Nautilus Institute, which found huge American access to Australian facilities. Some analysts now call the situation an 'colonisation' of the military estate.
The map shows the US military can access more than half of Australia's military facilities. It also shows the top places where US soldiers, jets and spy systems operate. The flagship is Pine Gap, the secretive joint Australian-US listening centre in the Northern Territory.
The video asks a sharp question: could such a close US ties drag Australia unwillingly into a war? It is part of the Guardian's bigger investigation into defense conditions behind the long alliance.
Pine Gap was set up by the CIA in 1966 as a joint American-Australian base. It is secret, based in something called signals to collect intelligence and spy on the region's communications. Pine Gap is just one of the bases on the map.
For 60 years, Australia and the US have shared a defence deal, and the base has grown and grown. The map helps show clearly what was often hidden, the physical spread of the US across the nation. Analysts who spy in the topic say the change is not a case.
This room of report landed at the same as and the grass roots Labor group called for a more independent foreign policy. The video is a visual tool for this big national debate. It has re-started channels about sovereignty, near the America's power the Pacific.
Most Australians don't see or realise how much a US military presence is around them. This video shows the base map that affects diplomacy, peace and the risk of war. It brings the security debate back to people in their daily life.