Australia and the Indonesian Incorporation of Portuguese Timor, 1974-1976

Speech

Speech by the Hon Alexander Downer, MP, Minister for Foreign Affairs,
Australian Defence College, Canberra, 31 October 2000.

Meeting the Security Challenges of the Asia-Pacific Region

Introduction

I am delighted to be here to address the Australian Defence College as a Distinguished Visitor.

I have enjoyed my many previous visits here. The College is a very fine institution that promotes deeper understanding in the Australian community of important issues in defence and strategic policy.

Your Asia-Pacific focus is also commendable, as this is obviously the primary region of strategic concern for Australia. And it is also the focus for my remarks today.

Australia's security policy

The four key components of our security policy set out in the 1997 Foreign and Trade Policy White Paper remain just as valid today. These are:

maintaining a strong defence capability;
our security alliance with the United States;
the maintenance and development of other bilateral defence and security relationships with countries throughout the Asia-Pacific; and
strengthening multilateral security links in the region, especially the ASEAN Regional Forum.

I will not devote time today to the first of these but rather say something about the other three, which are perhaps more directly pertinent to my portfolio. I will then conclude by linking the issue of regional stability to the broader challenges of globalisation

Meeting the security challenges that face us in the region

I begin with a general point - in meeting the security challenges that face us in the Asia-Pacific region, Australians need to consider and debate our strategic interests in a mature fashion.

There have been a number of events in recent times - some of them quite dramatic - which highlight the importance of mature and dispassionate reflection on the strategic issues that engage our attention. The effects of the Asian economic crisis; what has happened in East Timor over the past two years; the consequences of political instability and communal strife in the South Pacific; these are all pertinent examples.

But we also need to remember what has remained constant. For example, major power relations in the region - the key determinant of regional stability - have not changed in any fundamental sense. In particular, US engagement, manifested chiefly in its alliances with Asia-Pacific countries, has been maintained and strengthened.

Regional security outlook

There are, in particular, four areas that are likely to be important features of the regional security agenda in the foreseeable future.

Tensions on the Korean peninsula continue to be of concern, as events there can affect relations among the major powers and the economic welfare of the entire region. We are encouraged by signs that the DPRK is moving to engage more with the outside world, and also to refrain from actions which could add to regional tensions, like further missile testing.

Australia's decision top restore diplomatic relations with the DPRK grew naturally out of this context. We are pleased that other nations are following our lead, and considering the normalisation of diplomatic ties with the DPRK.

Tensions in the Taiwan Straits are also of concern. It is, however, encouraging that both sides have been more temperate in their language since the election of President Chen Shuibian last March. The Taiwan question is the most challenging issue in the US-China relationship, whose future direction is crucial to international relations in the region.

The recent crises in Fiji and the Solomon Islands, and recurring troubles in Bougainville, have highlighted serious internal problems in some Pacific island states. Australia has a strong commitment and devotes substantial resources to the South Pacific region. It is not however, the region's policeman.

The situation on the Indian sub-continent is the fourth area of concern. Periodic outbreaks of violence in Kashmir and elsewhere indicate the worrying potential for a slide into a more general conflict. The introduction of nuclear weapons into this situation has only deepened international concern. Australia hopes that India and Pakistan will realise that the possession and testing of, and threats to use, nuclear weapons can only detract from their national security and has the potential to undermine the commitment of others to non-proliferation.

US engagement

The US, through its engagement in the Western Pacific, plays a particularly important role in balancing and containing potential rivalries.

Our ANZUS alliance relationship helps cement the US into the security architecture of the region. Our relationship has stood the test of time, and is based on common values and shared interests. The alliance has never been defined by what it stands against, because it has survived enormous shifts in the strategic landscape, as exemplified by the changing role of China in the region since the 1950s. Indeed, the parties to the ANZUS Treaty seek "peace with all peoples and all Governments, and ... to strengthen the fabric of peace in the Pacific area".

The other alliances of the US in the Asia-Pacific are also important features of the regional security architecture. The US plays a key balancing role on the Korean peninsula, and the US and Japan are in the process of revitalising their cooperation guidelines, which should enhance their ability to operate jointly in the future.

The value of a continued US presence in the region continues to be reaffirmed, most recently by the very effective and welcome US assistance with the UN effort in East Timor.

Our bilateral defence and security relationships in the region

Strong bilateral relationships provide the underpinning for regional stability and complement what can be achieved through multilateral security cooperation.

The endorsement at the weekend by Pacific island Leaders of the Biketawa Declaration underlines how strong bilateral relations and regional mechanisms can work together. The Declaration sets down for the first time a set of principles which Pacific Island Forum member countries can follow in responding collectively to threats to democracy in the region. Australia worked closely with Pacific Island states as they developed this regionally-endorsed framework for action, including at the first ever meeting of Forum Foreign Ministers that I attended in Apia on 10-11 August.

Australia has built up a series of bilateral security dialogues, includingwith China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. These dialogues help countries in the region understand the thinking behind Australia's approach to security issues, and help us understand their thinking. This may also lead, in the longer term, to common security objectives, and the mechanisms to achieve them.

Strengthening multilateral security links in the region

Australia has sought to emphasise the importance of creating processes that will ensure a secure and stable environment in our own region. The growing web of regional security relationships in the Asia-Pacific mirrors the extensive set of economic and people-to-people ties across the region.

Australia values highly the Five Power Defence Agreement with Malaysia, Singapore, New Zealand (NZ) and the United Kingdom. We also value highly our other formal bilateral security arrangements such as Closer Defence Relations with NZ and the Joint Declaration of Principles with Papua New Guinea.

The ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), of which Australia is a member, should work to exploit its full potential as a means to reduce tensions and strengthen security dialogue in the Asia-Pacific. To this end, Australia has very much welcomed the development over the past year of an enhanced role for the ARF Chair in liaison with other multilateral organisations.

Australia is also supporting moves to accord the Chair a stronger role, perhaps in cooperation with other ARF members, in "good offices" and preventive diplomacy, so as to forestall conflict before it occurs. The ARF is also useful in that it engages the major powers (including the US, China, Japan and Russia) in dialogue about the security affairs of the region.

Australia was pleased that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) joined the ARF earlier this year, as further engagement of the DPRK in regional affairs is a vital step in easing regional tensions.

Globalisation

These issues of regional stability feed into our consideration of how to meet the broader challenges of globalisation.

Globalisation is driving the creation of a global economy and the increased interdependence of national economies. The integration of global economic activity has been supported by rapid developments in technology, communications, transportation, media and production.

Globalisation offers real benefits to those economies and societies that are genuinely open to innovation and quick to adapt to more practical and efficient ways of doing things. By actively embracing trade liberalisation, Australia has a more productive, outward-looking economy with higher incomes and more job opportunities, more appropriate use of resources, lower prices and a better quality of choice for families and businesses.

By deepening economic interdependence between states, globalisation also has implications for our strategic interests. Closer economic links are the building blocks of better security and strategic relationships because they help build trust and mutual respect - everyone has more at stake in the regional and global system.

Conclusion

We are encouraged by developments in the region that promise greater dialogue and cooperation on security matters. They foster a habit of dialogue and cooperation that promotes a more peaceful, stable and prosperous region.