東アジア地域主義に向けてのオーストラリアの外交戦略

アジアのパワー・ポリティックスを超える試みとその現実

抄録

This paper seeks to explain how Australia has sought to further its national interests and increase its diplomatic influence in Asia. Managing relations with Asia, especially in light of rise of Chinese power and the decline of the US as global hegemon, is Australia's most important foreign policy problem. In managing its foreign relations with Asia, Australia must strike a careful balance. Becoming deeply involved in Asian affairs risks entanglement in Sino-Japanese great power rivalry. But neither will Australia's national interests be served by remaining aloof from Asian affairs, as it risks isolation from the decisions which might affect Australia's national security or economic well being.
In striking this balance, this paper will argue that Australia has adopted a ‘middle power’ diplomatic strategy. This strategy is aimed at securing Australia's national interests in regional stability and the continued relevance of Australia to regional affairs by assertive, flexible and low key diplomacy. This strategy has also inclined Australia towards the building up of ad hoc coalitions or networks to deal with specific issues, an approach which has lead Australian promotion of and support for Asian regional multilateralism. Based on this middle power strategy, the Hawke-Keating administration helped sponsor the formation of the APEC and the ARF. The Howard administration too, despite its preferred bilateral approach and close coordination with US, saw to it that Australia joined the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC) and the East Asia Summit (EAS). More recently, the current Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has been more proactive in the pursuit of building regional security architecture.
This paper will argue that Australia approach to Asia under the middle power strategy is chiefly driven by external factors. In particular, this paper will address the Sino-Japanese rivalry and the changing role of the US in the region as causes for Australia's desire for ‘friends’ in Asia. However it is impossible to factor out entirely movements within Australia's domestic politics. In particular, it is necessary to discuss the 1996 and 2007 elections, at which Government changed hands from the Australian Labor Party (ALP) to the Liberal-National Coalition (LNC) and back again. While each administration has had differing approaches and assessments of Asia, this paper will seek to explain the underlying national strategy of Australia.