The Australian Nexus by Doyle Randall;

Author:Doyle, Randall;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: undefined
Publisher: Lexington Books/Fortress Academic
Published: 2012-08-15T00:00:00+00:00

Voices of Realism—Will America Remain a “Balancing” Force in the Indo-Pacific?

Despite the new thinking and energy taking place in Australia, there are still Australians (and Americans) who stubbornly embrace the memories of yesteryear. Especially, those memories of an era that represented, in their minds, the unchallenged domination of the Anglo-American people in the Indo-Pacific. Frankly, these voices (and there are many) of delusion and escapism cannot accept that this world has vanished. These “empire” true believers simply refuse to ask themselves a fundamental question, “What will Australia do if America can no longer exercise absolute primacy in the Indo-Pacific?” For now, it is a question that far too many Australians are not ready to answer or comprehend.

Yes, of course, I do realize that this question indeed represents an extremely uncomfortable proposition for a still primarily British-settled nation of only twenty-three million. And, that this country also happens to live next to a behemoth of a region where over four billion Asians reside.

So, it should not be a surprise to any scholar, or observer, of this region that there has been intense push-back and vocal opposition to many of Professor Hugh White’s publications. Though, some critics concede that he has made some valid points concerning Australian foreign policy, but, nevertheless, they also believe White has been too negative about the future role of the United States in the Indo-Pacific region, and they reject out-of-hand that Australia must choose between Washington and Beijing.

In November 2017, the Australian government released its first Foreign Policy White Paper in fifteen years. It provided a geopolitical and strategic blueprint concerning the future course of action that Australia should take with regards to the Indo-Pacific. The initial reviews were mixed.

As expected, the document particularly focuses upon how Australia should approach and deal with a rising China. And, will America support Australia’s new strategic agenda for the Indo-Pacific? Since 2000, these critical subjects have steadily but firmly planted themselves at the forefront of discussions relating to Australian foreign policy. Malcolm Turnbull, Australia’s current prime minister, and his government have attempted to reassure the Australia people on two specific points:

Yes, China is certainly challenging the United States in Asia, but, in the end, America will prevail and Australia can count on its security guarantor of the past seventy years.

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