by Michael West and Kim Wingerei

This week marked an historic occasion in the decline of American imperialism, the BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia, where 13 new states signed up. Many more are queuing. The world is realigning. But you won’t hear much about it in the media. Michael West and Kim Wingerei with the story.

This week, the BRICS Summit was held in Kazan, Russia; 36 countries were at the table including the eponymous member states Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Another 45 have expressed interest in joining. And as Australia’s PM jetted off for the Commonwealth Heads of Government (CHOGM) meeting in Samoa, the leaders of South Africa, India and Sri Lanka had already bailed. They were at the BRICS shindig.

In the Australian media there was barely a mention of BRICS. Similar deal in the UK. This despite the previously unthinkable occurring: the BRICS countries surpassing the economies of the G7 in size, the leaders of India and China sitting at the same table, enemies Armenia and Azerbaijan holding peaceful negotiations on the sidelines, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres turning up, Iran and Saudi Arabia as well.

It is reasonable to conclude that the US, in its hopeless efforts to curb Israel’s barbarity in Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon, may have sped up the rush of nations on every continent to BRICS. Every continent bar Australia. Yet the rise of China and other developing economies are remaking a multi-polar world, amid the decline of American dominance. And the dollar is at stake.

The BRICS Summit was far more newsworthy in fact. “Maduro won the elections fair,” said Putin of Venezuela’s president, anathema to the US rhetoric. There was much talk of trade and peace and self-determination, and of energy security and critical minerals too. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was welcomed in a meeting with Putin.

As CHOGM kicked off, the global influence of the UK was, as one observer put it, ‘vaporising’. Is Australia moving in the right direction? Are we on the right team? Should we be more independent in foreign policy?

We have been, with little public consensus, sucked into the $368B AUKUS alliance with the UK and the US, both of whom are financing and providing military support to Israel which is on trial for plausible genocide at the ICJ.

The BRICS represent 35% of the world GDP, bigger than the G7 with 30%.

BRICS member states represent 45% of the world’s population, while the G7 only accounts for 10%. Yet G7 meetings (United States, Germany, Canada, France, Great Britain, Italy and Japan) are always widely reported in Australia’s press.

Despite lowered growth forecasts for 2024, BRICS nations still average 3.6% growth, compared to 1% for the G7.

BRICS stands for the alliance of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and now South Africa, with Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE being invited to join as full members. Turkey – bridging the divide between Asia and Europe – plus Greece and Sri Lanka and many others also saying they want to join.

There is no gibberish about a vague Global Rules-Based Order which is the vague pretext for Australia’s support for American militarism.

What did they talk about? They talked about energy security and cooperation in mineral extraction. Trade and enhancing financial ties too; sanctions, tariffs and export restrictions. They talked about politics and condemned the US Israel genocide of the Palestinians and the invasion of Lebanon.

And perhaps the most worrying thing for the US is the threat to the dollar if the BRICS nations begin trading in their own currencies.

Putin tried on his spiel about Ukraine but was shut down by Xi Jinping. But as for the two-year long claim by US leaders that Putin was isolated, that has been shattered.

The US reaction to the summit was subdued. “We’re not looking at BRICS evolving into some kind of geopolitical rival. That’s not how we look at it … to the US or anyone else,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told a press briefing.

Yet as the price of gold hit record highs, news emerged that 159 out of 193 countries have signed up to use a new BRICS settlement system. This would prevent the US and the European Union from deploying economic sanctions as a weapon. This system would see countries settle trades and payments in their own currencies, reducing reliance on the US dollar, which has long been the dominant global currency.

The US has $35 trillion in debt – a debt it can never repay, a debt it owes to the rest of the world which has invested in the world’s biggest market, the US bond market (debt). A large swathe of it is held by the BRICS, who have invested their surpluses.

The adage, she who owns the debt controls the company, means that this is the biggest risk the US faces. Should those bondholders start to sell US bonds en masse, the value of the bonds would fall, and the interest rates would rise. That means inflation. It means making America a very expensive place to live because US importers would have to pay higher prices for foreign goods.

The US dollar remains the world’s ‘reserve currency’ and the settlement method of choice for world trade. But it must now be seriously under threat.

The question is how will the US react; will it allow a peaceful transition to a multipolar world, or go to war with China – dragging Australia along for the ride – to protect its dollar hegemony?

Tethered as we are to the US – especially when it comes to our military security – Australia risks being left as the proverbial shag on an old rock.

BRICS talks of energy security and cooperation in mineral extraction could leave our precious resources stranded far away from the centre of the new powers.

King Charles has left the country after many handshakes and even some non-royal hugs with some royal fans while opening up old wounds of colonial times.

He remains the titular head of the British Commonwealth and travelled to Samoa at CHOGM this week. South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa and India’s Narendra Modi decided to go to the BRICS summit in Kazan instead. India’s GDP surpassed the UK’s in 2022.

Sri Lanka, which is applying to join BRICS this week, sent neither its prime minister nor its foreign minister. Nor did Canada, a close ally of the UK and fellow member of the powerful “Five Eyes” intelligence-sharing network. The head of its delegation will be Ottawa’s high commissioner to the UK.

Sri Lanka, which is applying to join BRICS this week, sent neither its prime minister nor its foreign minister. Nor did Canada, a close ally of the UK and fellow member of the powerful “Five Eyes” intelligence-sharing network. The head of its delegation will be Ottawa’s high commissioner to the UK.

UK PM Keir Starmer did get to Samoa but his first visit to Britain’s former colonies in the southern hemisphere has been cut short. A UK government official confirmed the PM had scrapped plans to add in a stop in Australia, as aides feared it would keep him abroad for too long ahead of a pivotal government spending package being unveiled in London next week.

Australia has ignored the BRICS Summit but cold geopolitical reality would suggest a major rethink is needed when it comes to foreign policy. If the meeting in Russia showed anything it is that fewer countries than ever are on the same global policy page as the US, yet Australia has just shackled itself tighter than ever, via AUKUS, to the rapidly aging ‘global rules based order’.

Looking at the recent output from think tanks such as Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), Australia’s defence establishment, as well as our media and politicians appear to been caught on the hop.

https://michaelwest.com.au/brics-and-bats-the-global-world-order-is-changing

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