Between Partnership and Primacy: Australia’s Diplomatic Posture in Southeast Asia and the Pacific

Between Partnership and Primacy: Australia’s Diplomatic Posture in Southeast Asia and the Pacific

Australia is acutely aware that it does not hold the same level of influence or capacity to project power in Southeast Asia as it does in the Pacific.

American Alliances in East Asia: An Australian Perspective

In a recent Foreign Affairs article, Ely Ratner outlines a case for a Pacific Defense Pact. The concept of collective defense in the Asia-Pacific is not a novel idea, however, the historical record of a formal multilateral alliance in the region is not great. Moreover, Asia does not work the same way as Europe; there are significant political, military, and technical challenges to any such pact. Fundamentally, there are bigger questions about Am…