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Admiral Philip Davidson, head of US Indo-Pacific Command, has celebrated the Australian government’s push for a global inquiry into COVID-19 and Beijing’s growing adventurism in the region, as lines are drawn in a new era of great power competition.
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Australia as both a continent and a nation is unique in its position, enjoying relative geographic isolation from the flashpoints of global and regional conflagration of the 20th century. Blessed with unrivalled resource wealth and industrial potential, the nation has been able to embrace vastly different approaches to the nation’s strategic role and responsibilities.
However, the growing conventional and hybrid capabilities of peer and near-peer competitors – namely Russia and China – combined with the growing modernisation, capability enhancements and reorganisation of force structures in the armies of nations, including India, Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand, all contribute to the changing nature of contemporary warfare.
This perfect storm of factors, swirling like a maelstrom across Australia’s northern borders, has largely gone unnoticed by the Australian public, beyond the odd port visit by American or, as happened last year, Chinese naval vessels that seem to cause momentary flurries of concern.
Prior to establishing a new paradigm and priorities, it is critical to understand the nation’s history of strategic policymaking and the key priorities that have defined Australia's position in the Indo-Pacific since federation – traditionally, Australia’s strategic and defence planning has been intrinsically defined and impacted by a number of different yet interconnected and increasingly complex factors, namely:
- Guaranteeing the enduring benevolence and continuing stability of its primary strategic partner – via continued support of their strategic ambitions;
- The geographic isolation of the continent, highlighted by the 'tyranny of distance';
- A relatively small population in comparison with its neighbours; and
- Increasingly, the geopolitical, economic and strategic ambition and capabilities of Australia’s Indo-Pacific Asian neighbours.
This state of 'strategic dependence' has placed Australia at a disadvantage and entrenched a belief that the nation is both incapable of greater independent tactical and strategic action and must consistently support the designs and ambitions of great powers, with little concern for the broader impact on Australia and its national interests as a form of insurance.
This perfect storm of factors poses a major challenge for Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Australia's economic, political and strategic decision-makers as they struggle to get Australia off its dependence upon China.
While the US has served as the foundation of Australia's tactical and strategic freedom in the region, the rise of China and its increased territorial ambitions and antagonism towards its regional neighbours over recent years and in the aftermath of COVID-19, in particular, has prompted an unprecedented rebuke from Australia, drawing fire from Beijing and renewed support from Washington.
Recognising these challenges, recently confirmed Commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, Admiral Philip Davidson, has used his new position to paint a rather concerning image for Australian consideration, calculation and response as we inch into the 2020s.
Beijing's growing reach is 'pernicious'
Australia's economic dependence upon China places the nation in an increasingly vulnerable position, challenging the economic, political and strategic sovereignty of the nation and is something that ADM Davidson clearly articulated during an interview with SkyNews.
ADM Davidson said, "China’s activities in Oceania, the Pacific island chain, has been quite pernicious; that’s been going on for years. During this very serious time of COVID-19, that approach has become even more evident."
These comments echo similar comments made by ADM Davidson earlier in the year at a Lowy Institute event, where he discussed the challenges of Beijing's increased antagonism in the region.
"Beijing has shown a willingness to intervene in free markets and to hurt Australian companies simply because the Australian government has exercised its sovereign right to protect its national security," ADM Davidson explained.
While economic in nature, this relationship between Australia and China places the nation in a state of 'strategic dependence' on Beijing, limiting Australia's economic, political and strategic sovereignty and the potential response to mounting Chinese assertiveness in the South China Sea and increasingly further into the Pacific.
This is something that ADM Davidson explained in detail as insidious and undermining in its nature, saying, "Beijing's approach is pernicious. The party uses coercion, influence operations and military and diplomatic threats to bully other states to accommodate the Communist Party of China's interests."
Evidence of this can be seen from the South China Sea and Beijing's repeated belligerence in the area, through land reclaimations and the militarisation of island fortresses in defiance of international condemnation, and increasingly assertive maritime and aerial interdiction operations throughout the region bringing China's armed forces into direct confrontation with US, Japanese, Australian and other allied forces.
Further challenging Australian and US policymakers is the pervasive expansion of Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and 'debt diplomacy', which has already seen disastrous results for developing nations from Africa to the Pacific, with Beijing taking direct control of key strategic and economic assets, including mines and airports to major maritime hubs like Hambantota Port in Sri Lanka.
Closer to home, repeated rumours about China's plans to establish a major naval base in Fiji or the Solomon Islands serve as powerful reminders that Australia is at the epicentre of the new Cold War.
ADM Davidson expanded on these points, describing the BRI as a "stalking horse to advanced Chinese security concerns", while stressing, "Australia has [the] right to be very concerned about the Chinese potentially building a base in the island chain. Part of the Indo-Pacific strategy the US has put forward – and I believe Australia has made quite clear is in its national interest – is to prevent such bases from happening".
Building on this, ADM Davidson was complimentary of the Australian government's response to Beijing's territorial and political machinations, saying, "Sometimes that makes for tough choices. I applaud Australia’s leadership on both the issues they decided they had to sit on. I know the US will be alongside."
The Admiral also issued a potent reminder for the Australian public during the rapidly deteriorating geostrategic and political environment, saying, "My message to ordinary Australians is this: the sovereignty of our nations, our ability to choose, should be independent of coercion."
Your thoughts
Australia’s position and responsibilities in the Indo-Pacific region will depend on the nation’s ability to sustain itself economically, strategically and politically.
Despite the nation’s virtually unrivalled wealth of natural resources, agricultural and industrial potential, there is a lack of a cohesive national security strategy integrating the development of individual yet complementary public policy strategies to support a more robust Australian role in the region.
Enhancing Australia’s capacity to act as an independent power, incorporating great power-style strategic economic, diplomatic and military capability serves as a powerful symbol of Australia’s sovereignty and evolving responsibilities in supporting and enhancing the security and prosperity of Indo-Pacific Asia.
Shifting the public discussion away from the default Australian position of "it is all a little too difficult, so let’s not bother" will provide unprecedented economic, diplomatic, political and strategic opportunities for the nation.
However, as events continue to unfold throughout the region and China continues to throw its economic, political and strategic weight around, can Australia afford to remain a secondary power or does it need to embrace a larger, more independent role in an era of increasing great power competition?
Further complicating the nation’s calculations is the declining diversity of the national economy, the ever present challenge of climate change impacting droughts, bushfires and floods, Australia’s energy security and the infrastructure needed to ensure national resilience.
Let us know your thoughts and ideas about the development of a holistic national security strategy to co-ordinate the nation’s response to mounting pressure from nation-state and asymmetric challenges in the comments section below, or get in touch with
Stephen Kuper
Steve has an extensive career across government, defence industry and advocacy, having previously worked for cabinet ministers at both Federal and State levels.
