Australian Politics and Policy - Senior, 2019a

Foreign and defence policy
Treaty created a trilateral Australia–USA–New Zealand arrangement, but is now
effectively bilateral since Wellington was excluded by the USA in 1986 over its nonnuclear
policy. 66 The alliance retains strong elite and public support in Australia
and the country remains ‘dependent’ upon Washington for its ultimate national
defence, including the important function of the US nuclear capability to deter
armed attack upon its territory (‘extended deterrence’). 67 Indeed, without American
military support Australia would need to raise its defence budget significantly, and
perhaps even contemplate developing an independent nuclear deterrent to secure
its national defence. 68
Sustained Australian commitment and ‘loyalty’ to the alliance has been
demonstrated through its unfailing military contribution to coalitions led by the
USA in Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq, and in the broader ‘War on Terror’ against
al-Qaeda/ISIS. The capabilities of the ADF are closely interoperable with those
of their American counterparts and utilise much of the same US technology. 69
Australia also hosts a range of ‘joint facilities’ such as the Pine Gap intelligence
facility and ‘rotational’ deployment of the US Marine Air–Ground Task Force near
Darwin. Finally, recent white papers have indicated that Canberra is committed to
deepening its alliance interdependence through increased military integration. 70 As
such, Canberra has been a resolute diplomatic supporter of US foreign and strategic
policy in a bid to ensure its own national security through the maintenance of
US primacy in Asia (e.g. through the ‘Free and Open Indo-Pacific’ strategy). This
is enshrined in Australian defence thinking as necessary ‘payment of an alliance
premium’ to assuage ‘fear of abandonment’, thus theoretically ensuring that the
USA reciprocates should Australia find itself under attack in some future
unspecified contingency. 71
Yet, debates regarding the reliability and desirability of the US alliance have
been sparked when Washington has engaged in internationally controversial and
destabilising policies such as the invasion of Iraq or President Trump’s rejection of
internationalnorms.Thoughbipartisansupportfortheallianceisresolute,andthe
benefits are clearly enumerated above, the alliance is not without its academic and
political critics, many of whom point out that the ANZUS Treaty itself is less than
unequivocal about automatic American military support for Australia. 72 Indeed,
the shifting power dynamics in Asia and President Trump’s disruptive ‘America
First’ foreign policy have demonstrated that ‘the credibility of US primacy has been
visibly diminished’. 73 Some Australian analysts have consequently pondered if the
66 Hensley 2013.
67 Bell 1988.
68 Frühling 2018.
69 Dean, Frühling and Taylor 2016.
70 Department of Defence 2016; Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade 2017.
71 Gyngell 2017.
72 Fraser and Roberts 2014.
73 Bisley 2017, 45.
597