Australia faces credibility test after Trump threats
Australia’s credibility as a defender of international law has come under renewed scrutiny after its closest security partner forcibly captured the Venezuelan president and threatened similar action against Colombia.
US President Donald Trump is monitoring Venezuela’s significant oil reserves after American forces captured President Nicolas Maduro during a large-scale military offensive.
The legality of the strike has been questioned by international law experts and comes after months of escalating military tensions.
“This certainly appears to be an armed intervention that would be unlawful under Article 24 of the UN Charter,” Associate Professor Amanda Alexander, an expert in international humanitarian law, told AAP. he said.
“All members must refrain in international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, which certainly appears to have happened here.”
Mr. Trump has repeatedly accused Mr. Maduro of running a “narco-terrorist” regime under a corrupt and illegitimate dictatorship.
He told reporters that the United States could launch a second attack on Venezuela if the government did not cooperate.
For now, Australia is monitoring the situation and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is urging all parties to support diplomacy to avoid tensions.
“We continue to support a peaceful, democratic transition in Venezuela that reflects international law and the will of the Venezuelan people,” he said.
Political science and international relations expert Juan Zahir Naranjo Caceres said the attack highlighted the risks Australia faces if its closest security partner acts outside widely accepted interpretations of international law.
“This behavior, fair or not, will be associated with US-based security architectures like AUKUS,” Mr. Caceres said.
Mr Caceres said the operation could complicate Australia’s efforts to position itself as a defender of international law.
“Canberra relies on the language of the rules-based order to criticize coercive behavior in its territory,” he said.
“So any perception that Australia is quietly accepting or excusing legally dubious US actions directly undermines this narrative in Southeast Asia and the Pacific.
“China is also a very, very important player in the region and has been openly critical of what’s going on in Venezuela, so that could have a big impact for Australia.”
Mr. Trump has threatened to seize Greenland for defensive purposes.
He also threatened military action against the Colombian government, telling reporters that such an operation “does me good.”
“(Mr. Trump’s) threats against Colombia demonstrate a very broad willingness to question the norms of sovereignty,” Mr. Caceres said.
“Australia should be worried because if unilateral attacks like this and commercial talk about territorial disputes become normalized as tools of great power, it becomes much harder for Australia to credibly challenge similar behavior by others.
“For example, we could hear reports that China was doing something in Taiwan, and then what would be the moral and legal authority of countries like the United States or allies like Australia to question that?”
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