Enhancing Australia’s south-east Asian relationships

Since 2009, successive Australian governments have sought to slowly shift the nation’s focus away from the Middle East towards what has become known as the Indo-Pacific. The most recent Foreign Policy White Paper, released in 2017, has formally identified the shift in the global power paradigm and its impact on Australia's long-term economic, political and strategic interests in the 21st century. 

Australia emerged from the Second World War as a middle power, essential to maintaining the post-war economic, political and strategic power paradigm established and led by the US – this relationship, established as a result of the direct threat to Australia, replaced Australia's strategic relationship of dependence on the British Empire and continues to serve as the basis of the nation's strategic policy direction and planning.

This international 'rules-based order' has played a critical role in supporting Australia's long-term development and is anchored by economic and strategic alliance frameworks, however the rise of totalitarian nations including China, Russia and the like are challenging the order, which is recognised by the 2017 Foreign Policy White Paper (FPWP), which states: "The international order is also being contested in other ways. Some states have increased their use of ‘measures short of war’ to pursue political and security objectives. Such measures include the use of non-state actors and other proxies, covert and paramilitary operations, economic coercion, cyber attacks, misinformation and media manipulation.

"International rules designed to help maintain peace and minimise the use of coercion are also being challenged. Australia’s security is maintained primarily through our own strength, our alliance with the United States and our partnerships with other countries. Australia’s security and prosperity would nonetheless suffer in a world governed by power alone. It is strongly in Australia’s interests to seek to prevent the erosion of hard-won international rules and agreed norms of behaviour that promote global security." 

The preceding 2016 Defence White Paper (DWP) laid the foundation for the 2017 Foreign Policy White Paper, identifying the growing need for the Australian Defence Force to expand its strategic partnerships and broader alliance network with emerging Indo-Pacific partners. The DWP reinforces the objectives identified in the FPWP: "Defence’s international engagement builds the relationships and co-operation which Australia requires to contribute to a more stable and secure international environment and to respond to strategic risk. Effective international engagement maximises the effectiveness of our contributions to coalition operations, including in Iraq and Afghanistan. Defence’s international engagement will continue to be closely co-ordinated with other government agencies, especially the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, which support the development of Australia’s strategic weight."

Enhancing Australia's strategic relationships 

Beyond Australia's long-standing relationships with the US and Japan – the rise of emerging regional and global powers with long-standing territorial ambitions, competing economic and strategic rivalries necessitates a diversification of Australia's economic, political and strategic alliances, particularly in the Indo-Pacific. 

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Australia can take advantage of the simmering relationships between the emerging regional powers – building on the nation's long standing economic, political and strategic relationships with nations like Indonesia, Vietnam, Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and India, which all serve as powerful political, economic and strategic partnerships to expand and nurture.  

While the economic potential of these nations – with a combined market of approximately 1.8 billion people eager to enjoy a western standard of living – serve as attractive and lucrative markets for expanding Australia's own economic development and thus should not be ignored, these economic interests are, like Australia's, dependent upon the enduring peace and stability of the Indo-Pacific. 

Recognising this unifying factor, Australia can and should serve as the political and strategic glue as part of a broader alliance network separate to traditional alliance frame works between Australia, the US and Japan – doing so empowers Australia to actively pursue its own regional interests in support of the broader 'rules-based order' without being beholden to external alliance frameworks. 

Australia as the Indo-Pacific strategic benefactor 

Australia’s security and prosperity are directly influenced by the stability and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific, meaning Australia must be directly engaged as both a benefactor and leader in all matters related to strategic, economic and political security, serving as a complementary force to the role played by the US.

Australia cannot simply rely on the US, or Japan, or the UK, or France to guarantee the economic, political and strategic interests of the nation. China is already actively undermining the regional order through its provocative actions in the South China Sea and its rapid military build-up.

To assume that Australia will remain immune to any hostilities that break out in the region is naive at best and criminally negligent at worst. As a nation, Australia cannot turn a blind eye to its own geo-political, economic and strategic backyard, both at a traditional and asymmetric level, lest we see a repeat of Imperial Japan or the Iranian Revolution arrive on our doorstep.

It is clear from history that appeasement does not work, so it is time to avoid repeating the mistakes of our past and be fully prepared to meet any challenge.  

For Australia, a nation defined by its relationship with traditionally larger, yet economically weaker regional neighbours, the growing economic prosperity of the region and corresponding arms build up, combined with ancient and more recent enmities, competing geo-political, economic and strategic interests, places the nation at the centre of the 21st century's 'great game'.

Australia’s security and prosperity are directly influenced by the stability and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific, meaning Australia must be directly engaged as both a benefactor and leader in all matters related to strategic, economic and political security, serving as either a replacement or complementary force to the role played by the US – should the US commitment or capacity be limited. 

Get involved with the discussion and let us know your thoughts on Australia's future role and position in the Indo-Pacific and what you would like to see from Australia's political leaders in terms of defining the nation's primary area of responsibility in the comments section below, or get in touch with This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.or at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..