The Importance Of Foreign Policy In The Asia-Pacific

In this essay I will be talking about the impact of the fall of Singapore on Australia’s immediate security, and also be giving a brief background of important events during that time.

Although Australia’s relationship with the British was weakened as the result of actions during WW2 our relationship with the USA was the reciprocal; this period resulted in a strengthening of ties with the Americans. A few key events were pivotal in this change. The first of these was when General Douglas MacArthur took over the defence of Australia and the Pacific Campaign in March 1942, discarding the current battle plan of holding ‘The Brisbane Line’. Instead in his quote “...so I instantly changed the conception (The Brisbane Line) with the basic thought that the ‘battle of Australia’ would be settled in the little islands to the north, north-east and north-west. I would make my fight there - win, lose or draw” explains that the battles, in which the fate of Australia would be decided, were to occur in the Philippines.

Although Australia remains geographically isolated from the world, international trade still remains a main factor that allows Australia’s economy to prosper. Australia’s long history of trade has created tight links and connections with other nations. Being a member of many worldwide organisations, Australia has produced many free trade agreements with countries around the world. However, recently Australia has seen a change in the composition and direction of its trade and has developed a strong trade link with the Asia-Pacific Region.

The bilateral relationship between Australia and Indonesia has a long but fluctuating history as ‘strange neighbours’, based on a traditional stance from Australian parties of Indonesia as the weaker state (Robert and Hadir 2015: 195). The discourse on Australia’s role in East Timor, particularly the intervention as the head of the UN sanctioned INTERFET team, has been praised or criticized depending on the narrative constructed of the events (Maley 2000: 151). Australia’s role in the East Timor crisis began through complicity in its causes, followed by a change in foreign policy which caused a deterioration of the Indonesia-Australia relationship at a time when Indonesia’s new democratic governance should have deepened relations (Sulistiyanto 2010: 125). While Australia and Indonesia have been steadily rebuilding their relationship, especially in regard to security, the

Australia’s presence in the ANZUS and SEATO alliances has been very important in our past. The ANZUS agreement which involved Australia, New Zealand and The United States said that they would “*come to one another’s aid in the event of an attack*” (Retro Active 2 p166 paragraph 1). This was formed in 1951. The SEATO alliance (South-East Asia Collective Defense Treaty), which was the one our involvement in Vietnam was based around involved Australia, Britain, United States, France and New Zealand. They all agreed that they would help protect Laos, Cambodia,

Another major aspect this limb deals with is that of Australia’s relationship with the United Nations and other major international organisations .

Though Australia is a powerful country and is considered a main player in the surrounding area yet it is does not hold a primary rank in the global environment. Australia's contribution in military interventions beyond the Asia Pacific is smaller and follows the lead of another country such as the United States. The Australian Defense Force (ADF) has the capability to tackle with the crises in its neighborhood, because of emergence of security concerns constantly from Indonesia and many other smaller states. Australia has adopted a strategy to support and strengthen the presence of United States in the region. This mutual cooperation is very important for Australia as regards economy and security. Its alliance with United States has been due to many reasons.

Achieving external stability is an important objective of economic policy, achieving this stability ensures that imbalances in Australia’s economic relationships with other economies do not hinder achieving domestic economic policy goals such as lower rate of unemployment, higher rate of growth and lower inflation. There are three main factors that effect external stability the deficit on the current account (CAD), net foreign liabilities and the Australian dollar. Australia’s experienced times when overseas investors decided that the economy’s external position was unstable, and when investors like such decide to withdraw their

Communist Threat in Australia in the 1950s After World War II, communism was a rising concern within the Australian community. The 1940s and late 50s were full of conspiracies about alleged plots of communist infiltration and plans to undermine Australian politics and society in general. Australia, and especially its Prime Minister, Robert Menzies, were obsessed with exposing communism and its plots in all areas of life. This is likely due to knowledge of communisms downfalls and issues becoming common knowledge within the community, and especially due to the surplus amount of propaganda during and following the World War. Communism was portrayed as a disease within the media and knowledge of communism was becoming stronger by the day.

The only time Australia has come under direct attack from another country, was when Japan bombed Darwin and sunk a number of ships in Sydney, during World War 2. The question then has to be asked, why Australia has been involved in so many conflicts. A number of recent conflicts in this century come to mind, they include, The Boer War, World War One, World War Two and The Vietnam War. By far the conflict that drew the most outrage from Australian citizens was the Vietnam War. Australia has been drawn into these conflicts through a number of treaties and alliances made with other countries. Often it is not the conflicts that have drawn most outrage from Australian citizens, rather the insistence of other countries, for Australia to accept

In handling bilateral relationships, the Government often claims to have adopted an integrated approach taking into account the totality of Australian interests. But, a closer analyses of this claim reveals it would be almost impossible to meet the totality of Australia’s interests in any bilateral relationship and this is especially true of China which has such a different socio-political system. This close relationship continues to raise political questions for Australia to grapple with, such as her relations with Taiwan, Tibet and Chinese human rights issues. In some instances Australias interests will be confined mainly to trade and investment; in the more substantial bilateral relationships, the Government will implement comprehensive strategies

The U.S. and Australian alliance share an interest in maintaining the peace and stability in the Asian- Pacific

Providing aid to developing countries in the Asia-Pacific region allows the countries to develop politically and economically, helping the region prosper, and therefore improve Australia’s personal security. The aid provided by Australia helps developing countries to stabilise their situation

Australian-Indonesian relations are the foreign relations between the two countries, whether economically, politically, legally or socially. Australian-Indonesian relations involve an interaction in foreign policies between the two nations (Wolfsohn, 1951, p. 68). As long as Indonesia is Australia 's closest and largest neighbor, they are bound to have great international relations. These relations began as early as the 17th century and had only become enhanced with time (Daly, 2003, p. 397). The relationship has been defined by a conjoint growth trade of up to $14 between the years 2011-2012 which reports an increase from the previous economic year (Mark, 2012, p.402). These countries are members of various trade deals such as the ASEAN Regional Forum in addition to having close ties with education, defense, and leadership. Australia 's relationship with Indonesia is crucial, and lack of such could severely bruise the economy, and hence they need to keep united by ensuring the use of widespread media with beneficial input. Australia interacts with Indonesia in a way such as sporting activity, tourism, education, economic policies, youth exchange programs, cultures and above all their diplomacy (Okamoto, 2010, p.241).

The US is a vital strategic ally to Australia. The two countries have a long – if problematic – history of foreign policy collaboration, including joint military engagement. But they are facing two significant foreign policy challenges that require nuanced and delicate leadership – the exact opposite of Trump’s style