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Is Australia increasingly mismanaging its relationship with China
Introduction
Relations with China are one of the most significant facets of Australias foreign policy. China is undoubtedly becoming an emerging power in Asia and good relations with China will become progressively conspicuous aspects of the global interests of Australia. It is notable to mention that Australia is willing to develop good relations with most of the countries as it is developing a major economic interest in the region. However, for Australian policymakers, implementing and maintaining positive relations with China is one of the most difficult tasks. The time period of 1996 was a sign of the sensitive nature in Australia-China relations. That time period had raised some certain vital range of issues, which are significant when these countries bond together in managing the relationship (Chow, 2017, p.1186). Senior Chinese and Australian political leaders are not willing to meet each other on regular basis in order to ponder the bilateral problems or regional issues. Thats why it is obvious that the political affiliation of Australia with China is far less developed than the economic connection. Australian policy makers should consider this critical situation as China is a significant political and security actor as well as an economic power in the region. For decades, the strategic and political relations between Beijing and Canberra are underdeveloped which is detrimental to Australias interests. The worse relationships weaken Australias ability to employ its impact provincially. There is an absence of understanding and political reliance between Chinese and Australian decision makers, which could lead the bilateral relations into a crisis (Paramati et al., 2018, p.143).
Discussion
How Canberra should manage its relations with Beijing, by keeping in mind the political, economic, and military power of China, is a question that divides Australians. It is a well-known fact that the rise of China will have a significant impact on the security and well-being of Australia. China is entering a period of political uncertainty, but it is effectively maintaining its rapid economic growth. China is becoming a key investment and trading partner for Australia due to its economic growth and its success is aiding China to assert its position in the global and regional affairs. However, it is noteworthy to mention that the legitimacy of the Communist party is facing difficulties due to the decline of Maoist ideology and social inequality. It results in degrading the control of the Communist Party over peoples daily life (Babb, 2018, p.23). China will have to see a difficult period of succession due to the death of Deng Xiaoping as it may lead towards grudges and partitions within the party. Australia-China relation is at the verge of challenging time as a more aggressive Chinese foreign policy can make this worse, especially to get the support of the armed forces. A significant deterioration of relation among China and Australia has been seen during 1996 to 1999 when the foreign policies of Australia on the United States and China were subjected to strident public criticism. A Chinese publication used the metaphors to show that Australian policy makers are torn between its connection with the traditional allegiances and Asia. Australia had strong relations with the United States for more than a century, but its new policies about China seems like it is torn among its connections with Asia and the United States.
It is notable to mention that a nearly exclusive focus on the economic dimensions can have some unfavourable penalties. These include Australia being perceived as unwilling in order to continue an independent foreign policy or a risk of not getting the desired regional influence. Moreover, if the strategic and political relations between Beijing and Canberra remain underdeveloped, then it will not be possible for Australia and China to resolve problems. However, some people maintain that it is not in the interest of Australia to develop strong relationships with the one-party authoritarian state.
Australia and China in the Indo-Pacific century
The political leaders of Australia need to pave the way for straight discussion regarding Chinas rise in the region if they want Australia to be an innovative and constructive regional power. The political leaders of Australia need to pursue a foreign policy which demands reinforcement by keeping in mind the needs of Australia (Medcalf, 2018, p.12). No one knows that how China will use its power, so it gives rise to anxieties. There is a lack of trust among Chinese and Australian policy makers as the processes of Chinas policy makers are not transparent (Babb, 2018, p.23). It is significant to mention that the interdependence among China and Australia has grown exponentially. In the Indo-Pacific region, there is an ultimate conversion of political, economic, and military power (Medcalf, 2018, p.12). Both trends have the tendency to alter the multilateral and bilateral relationships governance architecture. In the Indo-Pacific region, growing economic, military, political power of Indonesia and India will also affect the future of Australia. However, that effect will not be anywhere near to the degree as China will affect its future.
Australias China rhetoric
No Australian political leader over the past 15 years has defined that gaining the trust of China is the foremost goal for Australia. The Prime Minister supported that both countries need to focus on their economic interaction as they are more likely to emerge as a power source in the Indo-Pacific region. However, it is critical to consider that Howard lived in a different era when he acts as a Prime Minister. In 1996, Howard took office. At that time, Australia was not much engaged in trade with China as its export only constituted less than five per cent of its overall exports. But now, nearly a quarter of all the exports of Australia are to China. Now the question is, What does Australia want from China Australia needs to build its relationship with China due to its own nationwide purposes. There are several complex regional and bilateral issues that need to be resolved. These issues can be fixed if Canberra and Beijing could find mutually acceptable ways in order to establish a meaningful political and strategic ties (Paramati et al., 2018, p.143).
Defence and Strategic Relations
Australia has probably the closest defence relationship with China. There are regular bilateral exchanges between the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) and the Australian Defense Force (ADF). However, the rise of China as a political, economic, and military power in the 21st century is widely viewed as a major strategic challenge for Australia. The world is seeing the relationship between Canberra and Beijing as an essential supplement to the economic ties between China and Australia. Australia-China Defense Engagement Plan is a critical part of their relationship. In January 2014, sixteen annual sessions regarding defence strategies were held in Canberra. While seventeenth annual session held in December 2014. The major points in these annual sessions include naval ship visits, high-level officer visits, humanitarian relief drills, strategic policy forums, and cultural exchanges (White, 2017, p.187). Australia has a strong relationship with the United States in the past due to the formal military alliance between Australia and the US. The United States has enjoyed military primacy in China since World War II. The US likes to have control over all regions of the world to maintain its supremacy, but with the uprise of China as an economic and military power, the US dream to control Asia is beginning to be wiped out (Wang, 2016). Chinas rapid economic growth in the last few decades is challenging regional American hegemony in the region. Now, Australia is concerned regarding its relationship with both China and the US. China has made a firm grip over the West Pacific stretching from Japan to Borneo due to emerging blue water navy, attack submarines, aircraft carriers, and long-range missiles. There is a notable effect of Chinas uprise in the Indo-Pacific region upon Australian strategic thinking. Many officials of the United States have stated that in any US conflict with China, Australia is more likely to contribute alongside the US. However, the disputed territories in the South China Sea and in the East China Sea is causing a problem for the previous concepts of homeland defence for Australia (Huynh, 2017, p.60). Australia is well aware of the fact that there is a relative decline in American power in that region. Australia also needs to prevent China from taking control over the disputed territory by sending military assets in the South China Sea (Huynh, 2017, p.60). Moreover, Chinas overspending on military capabilities has forced Australia to increase its defence budget as well.
There has been much debate in the recent few years over whether Australia needs to choose China, its important economic partner, and the US, its strategic ally. There are favourable chances that Australia will focus more towards China due to its important economic relations. However, the political and defence establishment of Australia persists tremendously in the indulgence of strong sustenance for the US alliance. With the release of Australias Strategic Edge in 2030 report by the defence analysts Ross Babbage, a storm has caused in Australian policy circles. The report suggested that Australian sovereignty will be a danger by the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army. The report also argued that Australias ADF will be in close cooperation with the US to dissuade and counterbalance the hastily intensifying PLA in Australias approaches (Brewster, 2015). China has announced that its economic, political, and military up rise is a peaceful rise. There are not violent or evil purposes hidden behind these strengths. However, China is well aware of the fact that US pivot is a strategic maneuver in order to decimate the power of China from that region by using Australia, which might cause Australia to be caught in the crossfire. China has warned Australia regarding such consequences in the Defense White Paper of 2009. That paper advocated that the Australian defence ministers are concerned about the Chinese military expansionism, so they upgrade their defence forces with a budget of 275 billion Australian dollars. 2013 Defense White Paper advocated that Australia does not approach China as an opponent. Australia should avail the positive opportunity to gain maximum profit by China with the assistance of the economic corridor.
It seems like Australia has started to mismanage its relations with China in the recent few years. The Abbott government seems to be an unabashed supporter of the United States. The government is willing to consider their previous alliance with the US as it has taken a firmer stance over the matter of maritime ambitions of the Chinese. It is obvious that the Abbott government is led by the US regional orders, threating its relationship with China. Australia has also established strong security relations with Japan which is a bitter rival of China. Australia has compromised its relation with China by intensifying military collaboration with the United States. Moreover, the groundbreaking purchase of Japanese submarines also disputed the relationship between Australia and China. Australia is increasing defence spending just to influence the Indo-Pacific region by its growing power, but it forgets that China is its major economic support. Bad relationship with China would be catastrophic for its reputation and influence in that region (Cheng et al., 2018, p.613). Therefore, the current Australian government must reconsider its US-led regional orders in order to make remarkable progress in the economic and political sector in the Indo-Pacific region.
It is notable to mention that Deng Xiaoping launched China on dramatic economic progress which has led many Chinese out of poverty. China is progressing rapidly in the region with 10 to 11 per cent GDP growth per annum. This results in a population shift into a series of new cities from the countryside (Wijesiri, 2018, p.1067). The primary goal of China was to produce cheap manufacturers so that many investors start their work in China due to its cheap labour. That plan worked for China and now it is one of the strongest power in Asia. Now, Australia wants to take the countrys relationship with China to new levels. Australia is willing to forge closer ties with China while maintaining a close relationship with the United States by keeping in view their traditional alliance. If Australia wants to maintain cordial relations with China, then it should reconsider about hosting US Marines in Darwin. Human rights and the treatment of the Tibetan people, Australias dealing with the Taipei government and the issues of the status of Taiwan, Australian alliance with the US and the conduct of aid and economic relations are all matters of excessive thoughtfulness for the relationship of China and Australia. Consequently, the rapidly expanding economy of China can lead toward the future problems of political stability. At the same time, driven by the concerns about America as a reliable ally and the worries about the impetus of Chinas rise, Australian policies has become more ragged. Australian policymakers are also concerned about Chinese influence in Australia itself. Therefore, it is safe to say to sentiments persist slightly divided on how far White paper should go.
Conclusion
In a nutshell, China is rapidly progressing towards economic modernization and its government understandably expects it to be a leading world economy. Australia-China relation is at the verge of challenging time as a more aggressive Chinese foreign policy can make this worse, especially to get the support of the armed forces. The Australian government needs to build political and strategic ties with China to establish strong political trust. Australia needs to reconsider its alliance with the US in order to gain economic support from China. The Australian defence minister is concerned about the Chinese military expansionism. Political leaders from both countries need to ponder the bilateral problems or regional issues. Current status of the Australian policies demonstrate that Australia seeks interest in trade with China, so it is unlikely to disrupt its relationship with it. The interdependence among China and Australia has grown exponentially. Australia must pursue an annual economic and strategic dialogue with China by keeping in view three strands, economics, politics, and defence. It is important for Australia to build strong strategic and economic relations with China if it wants to prosper in the Indo-Pacific region.
Bibliography
Babb, J., 2018. Australia, we need to talk about China Book Review.News Weekly, (3019), p.23.
Brewster, D., 2015. The AustraliaIndia framework for security cooperation another step towards an Indo-Pacific security partnership.
Cheng, J., Zhang, Y., Zhang, W., Xu, Z., Bambrick, H., Hu, W. and Tong, S., 2018. Assessment of heat-and cold-related emergency department visits in cities of China and Australia Population vulnerability and attributable burden.Environmental research,166, pp.610-619.
Chow, G.C., 2017.Capital formation and economic growth in China(pp. 1186-1221). BRILL.
Huynh, S.T., 2017. Australias Engagement in the South China Sea under the Prospect Theory Approach and Implications for Australia-Vietnam Relations.Asian Culture and History,9(2), p.60.
Medcalf, R., 2018. Reimagining Asia From Asia-Pacific to Indo-Pacific. InInternational Relations and Asias Southern Tier(pp. 9-28). Springer, Singapore.
Paramati, S.R., Zakari, A., Jalle, M., Kale, S. and Begari, P., 2018. The dynamic impact of bilateral trade linkages on stock market correlations of Australia and China.Applied Economics Letters,25(3), pp.141-145.
Rory Medcalf, The Balancing Kangaroo Australia and Chinese power, Issues and Studies, Vol. 50, No. 3, 2014, p. 124, available at http//www.lowyinstitute.org/publications/balancing-kangaroo-australia-and-chinese-power
Wang, Y., 2016.Australia-China relations post 1949 Sixty years of trade and politics. Routledge.
White, H., 2012.The China choice Why America should share power. Black Inc.
White, H., 2017. Old Friends in the New Asia New Zealand, Australia and the Rise of China.New Zealand And The World Past, Present And Future, p.187.
Wijesiri, B., Liu, A., Gunawardana, C., Hong, N., Zhu, P., Guan, Y. and Goonetilleke, A., 2018. Influence of urbanisation characteristics on the variability of particle-bound heavy metals build-up A comparative study between China and Australia.Environmental pollution,242, pp.1067-1077.
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