{"id":23891,"date":"2015-12-11T12:30:20","date_gmt":"2015-12-11T01:30:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?p=23891"},"modified":"2015-12-11T13:54:45","modified_gmt":"2015-12-11T02:54:45","slug":"defending-australias-national-interests-in-a-changing-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/defending-australias-national-interests-in-a-changing-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Defending Australia\u2019s national interests in a changing world"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Stephen<\/a><\/p>\n

The security challenges across the globe are numerous and complex, and the post-Cold War peace dividend is an increasingly distant memory. I see two main security trends at play. The first is ungoverned spaces and fragile states. Instead of the hoped for end to the 9\/11 decade, extremist groups continue to take advantage of ungoverned spaces and weak states to establish safe-havens from which they export violence.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s most obvious in the Middle East, but it is occurring across the globe, including in Africa and Asia. Radicalised non-state actors are a new normal\u2014and, as a result, Australia has once again committed significant numbers of military personnel to the Middle East.<\/p>\n

Labor has provided bipartisan support for Australia\u2019s assistance to Iraq and, more recently, air operations across Iraq\u2019s border with Syria. We believe it\u2019s in the national interest to contribute to the campaign against Daesh, although we\u2019ve been upfront about our concerns with the coherence of the strategy guiding the international effort.<\/p>\n

Labor isn\u2019t alone in its concerns\u2014and there has been much criticism in recent months of the international strategy in Iraq and Syria. Some of this criticism, frankly, appears to be motived more by a desire to achieve political change in Washington than in Damascus.<\/p>\n

Yet it\u2019s true that, to date, the international effort hasn\u2019t achieved all that we might hope.\u00a0But we shouldn\u2019t overlook some of the successes. The briefings I\u2019ve received indicate that Daesh\u2019s aggressive advance in Iraq has been largely halted, and in some instances, reversed.\u00a0Our training efforts\u2014which will ultimately help Iraq protect itself\u2014are making progress. But our role is a supporting role.<\/p>\n

The key to success will be a demonstrable commitment by Iraq\u2019s leaders to overcoming sectarian divides and to unite for a common goal. I believe success is Iraq is achievable\u2014but only Iraq\u2019s people and their leaders can provide the fundamental ingredient for success.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the situation in Syria is a humanitarian catastrophe and a threat to global security. We must acknowledge that a durable solution will demand more than just military intervention\u2014it will require diplomatic effort and a political solution. There won\u2019t be a lasting solution absent an agreed way forward between the major players involved in the conflict.<\/p>\n

If an agreed solution ultimately calls for additional international contributions, then that\u2019s something Australia should consider\u2014and Labor will be a constructive partner in those discussions.<\/p>\n

But, as a starting point, the international community should be encouraging the Arab states with the means to do so to secure a post\u2011conflict Syria.<\/p>\n

Ungoverned spaces and weak states are one of two key security trends\u2014the other is shifting power relations. It\u2019s in our region, to our north, where the greatest shifts are occurring\u2014a generational transformation is underway as decades of stability lead to enormous economic growth.<\/p>\n

In a post-GFC world in which developed economies have struggled to grow, Asia has become the world\u2019s economic engine. But as economic weight has shifted to our region, so too has strategic competition increased. Asia\u2019s economic rise has led to a period of intense military build-up and modernisation.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Of themselves, those trends are neither surprising nor a cause for alarm. It\u2019s understandable that countries with healthy economies will want to modernise their militaries\u2014and having more capable militaries in the region that can contribute to common security goals is desirable.<\/p>\n

But coupled with a lack of transparency and historical grievances, those trends could have unforeseen consequences. In a period of flux, it would be comforting to assume that the multilateral system that has served us well to date will be a stabilising force.<\/p>\n

But as DFAT Secretary Peter Varghese has noted, multilateralism is under intense pressure and isn\u2019t delivering on our expectations. In Mr Varghese\u2019s words: \u2018emerging powers are no longer willing to accept rules they did not write or outcomes which they perceive do not take their interests into account.\u2019<\/p>\n

As a result, the future of global leadership could be described as contested. For a middle power like Australia, for whom the international system provides a means to project our interests beyond our relative strategic weight, that\u2019s a concerning prospect.<\/p>\n

Notwithstanding the shifts underway, for the foreseeable future, the US will remain the preeminent global and regional power. Labor strongly believes that this special relationship remains firmly in our national interest\u2014and that an engaged and active US is a common good for our region.<\/p>\n

Our alliance is an art, not a science\u2014it\u2019s a relationship that isn\u2019t defined by a precise formula or quid pro quo<\/em>\u2014and it\u2019s more than the sum of its parts. It\u2019s also, in my view, a relationship that requires constant investment, innovation and reinvention to meet new challenges.<\/p>\n

Labor has been at the forefront of evolving the alliance to respond to new challenges. This includes extending the ANZUS treaty to cover cyber threats, and increased bilateral cooperation on space.<\/p>\n

China\u2019s rise is at the centre of changes occurring in our region. It isn\u2019t the only factor, but it is the most prominent. And its relationship with the US will be the defining feature of this century.<\/p>\n

Labor strongly supports the peaceful rise of China. As our relationship with China matures and deepens over time, so too should we expand the links between our defence forces and personnel.<\/p>\n

While others have argued that China\u2019s rise will lead to an inevitable \u2018choice\u2019 for Australia between our alliance with the US and our growing relationship with China\u2014I disagree. I reject the notion that there must be a binary, zero sum \u2018choice\u2019. We are, in the words of Defence Secretary Dennis Richardson, \u2018friends with both, allies with one\u2019.<\/em><\/p>\n

I believe that we can continue to invest in our alliance with the US while we simultaneously seek to build cooperation with China.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s important to acknowledge that our relationships with both differ. Our relationship with the US is long and deep. Our relationship with modern China is only just developing. It\u2019s a relationship centred on trade that, I hope, will develop over time into a rounded and mature relationship as trust and confidence builds.<\/p>\n

We can expect China to want a greater say in existing global and regional arrangements and institutions\u2014and to promote new arrangements and institutions which reflect its interests.<\/p>\n

But trust and confidence will also require China to demonstrate a commitment to supporting the international system of laws and norms from which both our countries have directly benefited.<\/p>\n

Nowhere is it more apparent that the international system is under pressure and in need of support than in our region\u2014particularly in the South China Sea. As a maritime trading nation, we have a direct interest in freedom of navigation and are the beneficiaries of an international system of laws and norms.<\/p>\n

We don’t take a position on the competing claims\u2014whether they be the claims of China, the Philippines, Vietnam\u2014or any other claimant.\u00a0 Our interest\u2014Australia\u2019s interest\u2014is in supporting the international system.<\/p>\n

For this reason, Labor welcomes the recent activities by the United States in the South China Sea as an important affirmation of international law and norms.\u00a0 I believe that other likeminded countries, including Australia, also have an obligation to act in support of international law and norms in the South China Sea.<\/p>\n

Those actions mustn’t be directed at any single claimant.\u00a0 And I would encourage all nations to become parties to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, including the United States, as a confidence building measure and further step towards a normative rules based approach to resolving disputes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The security challenges across the globe are numerous and complex, and the post-Cold War peace dividend is an increasingly distant memory. I see two main security trends at play. The first is ungoverned spaces and …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":455,"featured_media":23893,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[44,189,301,471],"class_list":["post-23891","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-australian-defence-force","tag-asean","tag-national-security-2","tag-south-china-sea"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nDefending Australia\u2019s national interests in a changing world | The Strategist<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/defending-australias-national-interests-in-a-changing-world\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Defending Australia\u2019s national interests in a changing world | The Strategist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The security challenges across the globe are numerous and complex, and the post-Cold War peace dividend is an increasingly distant memory. 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