Whether or not Australia is at an immediate threat of war from China, it looks like The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age have decided it is.
Over the past three days, the newspapers published several articles under their joint and alarmingly titled 'Red Alert' series – the type of conflict-escalatory reporting that reminds us of the American mainstream media’s misleading and exaggerated coverage of the threat of the non-existent weapons of mass destruction throughout 2002. The coverage was later used by the Bush administration as reason to invade Iraq in 2003. Many politics and media experts and critics argued at the time that the media acted as propaganda in not questioning the legality of the war and had framed coverage to ensure public support for the war. The consequent loss of millions of innocent lives serves as a cautionary tale of the dangers of false and sensationalised reporting.
In what former Prime Minister Paul Keating describes as 'egregious and provocative' reporting by the SMH and The Age, the threat of China’s invasion of Taiwan is amplified and China is presented as ‘the overwhelming source of danger to Australia’. The articles, which do not include any investigative reporting but are instead a projection of opinion held by some analysts, also predict a war on Australian soil in the next three years. In doing so, the journalists are not only violating journalism ethics by warmongering, they are also presenting the Australian government to the public as incompetent, weak and unprepared according to UTS Media and Communication Studies Professor Wanning Sun, who also says she was not surprised that the coverage came from journalists who had long been vocal advocates of the ‘China threat’ narrative – ‘China hawks’ in her words. According to Professor Sun, who has been following the Australian media coverage of China for some time now, one possible explanation for the timing of the articles could be to prime the public opinion to support for more funding, in anticipation of the release of defence strategy review interim report. Professor Sun says she is concerned that there appears to be a ‘cosy’ relationship between media and defence/security in Australia, despite the need for a critical distance between the two.
Whether this type of Cold War journalism is framed to undermine the Labour government’s efforts to improve diplomatic relations with China or is designed to shape public support for Australia’s acquisition of nuclear-powered submarines with help from the US and the UK, media coverage can play a decisive role in how China is perceived to the 'average' reader, in particular if it creates fear and anxiety about various Chinese communities in Australia.
Coverage of national security issues receives a great deal of attention from the public and hence demands greater levels of responsible journalism, instead of presenting asserted claims as facts. How the media report the relationship today provides a valuable benchmark for the direction of Australia–China relations. As a pillar of democracy, no media must fight the battle on someone’s behalf.
Ayesha Jehangir, CMT Postdoctoral Fellow