Australian Politics and Policy - Senior, 2019a

Australian Politics and Policy
influx of mainland Chinese students, and the establishment of Confucius Institutes,
exposing the nation to contact with all things Chinese as never before. Beeson and
Hameiri attest to ‘the game-changing nature that China’s rise has had on nearly
every aspect of Australia’s foreign policy and much domestic policy, too’. 61
ButAustralianpolicymakershavebeensomewhatuncomfortablewithChina’s
meteoric rise to power, 62 and Australian economic dependency upon China is a
double-edged sword as Beijing’s national interests and values are, in many ways,
inimical to those held by Australia. In the past, Australia enjoyed the happy
concurrence of its trade and security centred upon the USA and its allies (especially
Japan), but efforts to ‘compartmentalise’ trade and security initiated under Howard
have now run their course. 63 In contrast to Australia’s liberal democratic capitalist
democracy, China is a (nominally) communist authoritarian government which
holds different views on domestic practice and regional affairs. For example,
Australia is mindful of Chinese ‘core interests’ and refrains from aggravating
BeijingoverthestatusofTaiwan,HongKongandTibet(e.g.receivingtheDalai
Lama), subdues its criticism of human rights, and weighs the support it gives to
Washington and Tokyo when this conflicts with Beijing’s views.
Of particular note is Australia’s opposition to Chinese assertiveness in the
South China Sea, where Beijing has territorial disputes with neighbouring
countries and is engaged in a process of militarising artificial land features, against
the strong protests of the USA and others. Australia risks both diplomatic
chastisement and economic retaliation (‘punishment’) for diplomatic missteps in
Beijing’s eyes – such as decrying China as a ‘threat’ (as in the 2009 Defence White
Paper). Moreover, Chinese influence on Australia’s domestic politics has not always
been benign. The revelation of expansive industrial and defence espionage activities
and attempts to shape political dynamics within the country (known as ‘influence
operations’) have revealed the stark divergences in political and cultural mores
among the two. 64 Australia has since sought to increase its resilience to such efforts
and has passed legislation to scrutinise Chinese investment due to linkages with
state-owned enterprises. Thus, Beeson and Hameiri conclude that ‘for better or
worse, however, attempting to manage relations with China is going to be the litmus
test of policy efficacy for any Australian government for the foreseeable future’. 65
US alliance
The US alliance has remained a central pillar of Australian foreign and defence
policy planning since its codification in the ANZUS Treaty of 1951, which served to
shield the country from the communist threat of the USSR and China. The ANZUS
61 Beeson and Hameiri 2017, 7.
62 Gill and Jakobson 2017.
63 White 2013.
64 Hamilton 2018.
65 Beeson and Hameiri 2017, 9.
596