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Our Future Together
The proposed forms of the new relationship are: a defence alliance similiar to NATO, a free trade area similar to N.A.F.T.A. and political consultation similar to The Commonwealth. This will allow each country to retain complete control of its sovereignty while giving us the tools to become a community of nations. Unlike the EU, there are no proposals for currency union, or a joint defence force. There will be no Council or Parliament which will force a Realm to adopt resolutions not in its best interest. Rather, a customs union will be achieved simply through a treaty, and there will be no instrument such as the European Parliament which can pass regulations to compel a member country to adopt something it does not want to. Instead, the onus for the legislation of joint resolutions is on the individual Prime Ministers and Premiers, in the indigenous Parliaments. There will be no joint court of appeal, at least for the time being. It is also suggested that the High Commissioners exchanged between Commonwealth countries should, in the case of Realm-to-Realm diplomatic excange, be elected by the electorate of a country as a whole and that, furthermore, all Realms should have diplomatic missions in every other Realm with an elected High Commissioner, even if it is a joint mission. One example is the Australian-Canadian High Commissions in Barbados for the whole Eastern Caribbean, which share the same premises and building (dominions working together). They should look to open one in each Eastern Caribbean Realm now.
One organisation we will look to for guidance is The Commonwealth, since we will want to emulate the fact that no country's sovereignty is threatened by that organisation. However, our alliance should not be centred on The Commonwealth since we only make up 16 of the other 54 members, while the other 38 members are made up of 32 republics and 6 other indpendent monarchies. The Commonwealth is no longer an association only for Realms, and therefore it is impractical for the alliance of the Realms to be based on The Commonwealth.
As we prepare to move closer together, it is crucial that we know where we will end up. Many of the problems currently plaqueing Britain and its E.U. membership are because many of the changes approved by the politicians were not contemplated by the people.
Our alliance should not threaten the hard won sovereignty of the sixteen Realms. For the time being, our alliance should be political, economic and defensive. It is not suggested that we adopt a common currency or passport.
For in fact, we are actually strengthened by being sixteen different entities. It means that we can vote as a common block in the Commonwealth, the U.N. and its many councils.
Even our alliance does not necessarily need to threaten autonomous action by the Defence Force of any of the Realms. What is more, the Defence Force of a Realm will retain ultimate responsibility for its own defence, and the Defence Forces of other Realms will not be allowed to enter its territory without the governmental approval of the said Realm.
This can be achieved by 'regionalisation', which is essentially the allocation of regions of the earth's surface for which a particular Realm's Defence Force, or part thereof, is responsible. For example, Australia's Western Fleet and forces could be responsible for the Indian Ocean, South East Asia and the Persian Gulf, while its Eastern Fleet and forces could be responsible for one region of Oceania and New Zealand another. Papua New Guinea (PNG), because of the the small size of its military forces, may for example, retain responsibility over only its own territories. The Solomon Islands and Tuvalu, which do not have military forces, may fall under the protection of either Australia or New Zealand should they ever be attacked, thus continuing the de facto protection which these two countries already provide.
Some persons may also suggest the joint policing of regions by two or more Realms, such as Canada and the UK over the North Atlantic. This option would be effective in the Caribbean where the states are close together and their military abilities are limited.
Whatever the final arrangement, it should be decided by the citizens of the Realms, not solely by the politicians. Only if it gets popular approval will it be truly legitimate.
One central tenet to a defence alliance is that an attack on one should be an attack on all. Regardless of what region or what country is threatened, all the Realms should be prepared to back up a sister Realm. Also important is that if a joint decision is reached on an offensive, even if the Realm responsible for the region is incapable or unwilling to commit troops, it should at the very least provide logistics and facilities such as air and naval bases. For a joint decision to be reached, it need not be necessary that all Realms support the action. If they do not, they should not be compelled to participate, but as noted, at the very least, they should provide recquested assistance. However, unanimity should always be sought, using moral suasion, so that the alliance cannot be undermined by external forces.
The political side of the alliance is also important, and there should be regular meetings of ministers at all levels of the governments, similiar in fact, to the operations of The Commonwealth. There should also be a secretariat just like The Commonwealth. The political aspect should be used to resolve conflicts and promote the the best interests of all the Realms. The alliance should also include a sizable fund where the 'Big Four' direct most of their ovverseas aid, to the benefit of the less developed Realms. Professional organizations for the Realms only should be established, similar to those which are only for the Commonwealth citizens(e.g. The Commonwealth Journalists Association). The Commonwealth currently has more than 200 political and profesional organization affiliated with it.
An economic community does not mean that we have to be each others best trading partners. As with continued representation of all Realms in multi-national bodies, things work out better if we continue our separate trading relationships. It means that an economic recession in a Caribbean Realm would not necessarily threaten an Oceanic Realm. This is as compared to the tightly united E.U., where a recession in one means a recession in all. Contributing the third largest volume of trade in the world, and being represented in a major way in each of the North American, European and Asian markets, we would indeed be a world player, not dependent on any one region for our economic power.
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