Oz's reorientation
- By Kerry Brown
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E-mail Beijing Review, June 9, 2013
![Members of the Royal Australian Navy Band perform during a welcoming ceremony for three visiting Chinese naval ships in Sydney on December 18, 2012 [Photo:Jin Linpeng]](http://images.china.cn/attachement/jpg/site1007/20130609/001ec949c22b131e65ad0c.jpg "Members of the Royal Australian Navy Band perform during a welcoming ceremony for three visiting Chinese naval ships in Sydney on December 18, 2012 [Photo:Jin Linpeng]") |
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Members of the Royal Australian Navy Band perform during a welcoming ceremony for three visiting Chinese naval ships in Sydney on December 18, 2012 [Photo:Jin Linpeng] |
Between 2009, under the government led by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd in Australia, and 2013 when Julia Gillard was leader, Australia has produced two white papers on defense. The difference, at least in terms of their tone, is striking and has attracted much media commentary in Australia and abroad.
These two important papers need to be put in context. Australia is geographically a huge country. Looking on a map, it dominates the Southern Hemisphere in the Asian region, and straddles three time zones from west to east. But this physical vastness belies the fact that it is a country with a population smaller than that of Shanghai, which covers an area of 640 square km. Some 23 million people live in Australia, more than 90 percent in a few major urban centers. So it is quite common to hear people living in the country say that they are "a small country." In terms of population, this is true.
The defense of this major landmass is therefore a huge challenge. Australia needs to make the most of the resources it possesses. Historically, its greatest protector has been distance. During World War II, only the very northernmost parts of the country were touched by the conflict. But now, distance is not so important. Australia is defending its vast area with a military of only 60,000 personnel. The strategic formation of a credible defense force out of such a relatively small army, navy and air force is a priority.
Asian identity
As the 2013 white paper makes clear, the impact of the 2008 financial crisis, which is still ongoing, is clearer now than it was when the first paper was produced in 2009. The economies of its main allies in Europe and the United States have been weakened, and much of the productive energy and GDP growth centers have moved to emerging markets, the most important of which are in the Asian region. China and India figure heavily in both papers, particularly because of their immense economic importance to Australia now. This creates a level of complexity that was never as strong before.
The background to the 2013 defense white paper is a separate white paper issued by the government late in 2012, which dealt with the issue of Australia in the "Asian Century." Historically, Australia has been a European colony, and then a federation with independence but strong links to European countries, particularly the United Kingdom and Ireland. Its dominant trade partners until recently were in Europe, before being overtaken by the United States. In the last few years, however, the largest trade partner has become China. This has had a significant impact on how Australians view their identity and their role in the world.
Under prime ministers Robert Hawke in the 1980s, and then Paul Keating in the 1990s, the issue of Australia being an Asian country—despite its deep links culturally, politically and socially to Europe and the United States—became a major question. People addressed the issue by thinking about how to diversify Australia's links. New patterns of migration started to occur. Australia became a more complex society, and its strategic position became more complicated. Politicians had stated in the past that it was an Asian country and part of the Asian region, but in many ways their thinking was still rooted in European and American ways. The white paper issued last year was an attempt to think much more deeply about the reality of Australia's place in a world where Asian economies were increasingly dominant, and where it was critical for the future healthy growth of the country to have deep links with the region.
Australia has enjoyed continuous economic growth for over 21 years. This is unique amongst developed economies. It has a high per-capita GDP, and is a country which has grown prosperous particularly due to its rich resources. Many citizens describe it as a classic middle-class society. The vast majority of people are doing well, even though the cost of living is high because of the resource-led boom. Even so, there is anxiety about the sustainability of a resource-dependent economic model. Some of the thinking in the Australia in the Asian Century paper was about preparing for a day when service provision rather than resources was the key thing for Australia to supply in the region. The question here is how to get access to the markets emerging in China and India in particular, to be able to sell goods and do better business with the many hundreds of millions of consumers now becoming active.
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