Twenty years of Australia's engagement with Asia

Abstract

For the past two decades, 'engagement with Asia' has been a central theme in Australian public policy and public debate about Australia's place in the world. The commitment to Asian engagement has been shared by both sides of federal politics throughout this period; however, when in government the Labor Party (1983-96) and the Coalition (1996Coalition ( -2007 pursued radically different approaches to this common objective. This article contrasts and evaluates the differing approaches adopted by the Labor and Coalition governments, in the context of the domestic and regional debates and controversies that accompanied them. In particular, it seeks to explain why Australia is more engaged with Asia than ever before, in seeming defiance of the widespread criticism of the Coalition government's particular approach to Asian engagement.

Issues in Australian Foreign Policy

“…One of the recurring themes in recent discussions of Australian foreign policy has been about which side of politics is better able to manage relations with the all-important Asian region upon which Australia's economic well-being and security increasingly depends. 11 To the incoming Abbott government's credit, they seemed conscious of the need to demonstrate that they were just as cognizant as the ALP about the significance of East Asia. The oft-repeated mantra that captured this idea was "more Jakarta, less Geneva".…”

Engaged or Not? Perceptions of Australian Influence among Asian Publics

“…Strongly held religious beliefs may lead a person to view a secular state like Australia with hostility. Highly religious individuals, especially those who interpret secularism as an anti-religious ideology, may resent countries, like Australia, which, as Capling (2008: 609) observes, has political and social institutions that reflect secular, liberal, capitalist, and democratic values. Religiosity may also lead to feelings of prejudice toward non-members of one's religion (Batson and Burris, 1993).…”

“…this is happening throughout Asia. ( The Australian columnist Greg Sheridan (2010) following a series of violent assaults on Indian men in Melbourne). A central theme in Australian foreign policy over the past 20 years has been that of ‘Asian engagement’, reflecting increased interactions with the countries of Asia, especially in economic and security issues (Capling, 2008: 601; McDougall and Edney, 2010). Concurrently, various scholars have asked whether the Australian public supports greater integration with the region (Milner, 1997; McAllister and Ravenhill, 1998; Johnson et al ., 2010; Pietsch et al ., 2010).…”

“…Three reasons are commonly cited for this. First, Australia is said to be a culturally Western nation dominated by people with European ethnicity and, therefore, an outsider in Asia often perceived to be socially, economically, and politically separate (Capling, 2008: 603). During the 1980s and 1990s, for example, following attempts by Prime Ministers Hawke and Keating to promote economic interdependence with Asia, political leaders in Malaysia and Singapore argued that Australia should not be accepted into regional organizations because it was not culturally Asian (Johnson et al ., 2010: 66).…”

On Re-engaging Asia

“…The former foreign minister under Howard, Alexander Downer, in an interview some months after the Coalition's election defeat, characterised engagement with Asia in the following terms: I think the Howard years will always be remembered for building Australia's confidence in itself… From a country that was pleading to be accepted in its own neighbourhood to a point where it was almost embarrassing, and a country that was debating its own identity, to a country that is embraced in its own neighbourhood as a significant albeit occasionally controversial contributor to the neighbourhood and a country that is proud of its identity and understands its place in the world. (Alexander Downer cited in Lyons 2008, 11) Despite Downer's attempt to characterise Australian policy towards Asia in terms of this narrative of Australia 'finding its place in the world', as Capling (2008a) notes there was no such clear-cut narrative underlining Australia's relations with Asia. Rather, the Howard government's engagement with Asia was frequently propelled by a politics of pragmatism (see also Wesley 2007;Cotton and Ravenhill 2007) -engagement took place due to the rising economic power of China, in response to the Bali bombings and the Boxing Day tsunami and with the fostering of closer political ties with a democratising Indonesia.…”