AXIS OF GOOD FILES

Canberra picks the US over Asia (Alan Boyd, 6/12/03, Asia Times)

Prime Minister John Howard has sent shock waves across the Australian political landscape by scuttling rumors of his imminent retirement. And the outcome could be an early poll that will test Canberra's strained relationship with Asia.

After four years at the helm of the ruling Liberal-National Party coalition, Howard had been expected to step down as premier before the next election, which is scheduled to be called by November 2004. Instead, he will lead the conservative alliance into a torrid campaign that will be marred by internal leadership challenges and factional strains on both sides of the political divide. [...]

Almost any change in the political leadership would be good for Australia's on-again, off-again relationship with Asia, which has almost dropped off the agenda since Howard took over. A 2001 policy shift in effect downgraded the importance of regional ties by restoring the US-dominated Western security alliance as the core of Australia's diplomatic strategy.

Nurtured by a succession of Labor governments since the early 1970s, the Asia-first policy was also endorsed by the two Liberal coalitions that preceded Howard, and by Beazley when he was opposition leader. It led to the establishment of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) caucus, closer trade links with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and active participation in the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF).

The preoccupation with US ties, and especially Washington's forays into Afghanistan and Iraq, has weakened Canberra's diplomatic standing with predominantly Muslim Indonesia and Malaysia, as well as such traditional allies as the Philippines. At an economic level, the government has backed away from Labor's long-standing goal of securing ASEAN membership in favor of preferential trade accords: the US is the first target.

"By continuing to identify the United States as its preferred trading partner, the Howard government is relegating Australia's trade with Asia - the region that buys 55 percent of our exports," contended Craig Emerson, Labor's trade spokesman.

Australia, obviously, is an Anglospheric not an Asian nation. Posted by Orrin Judd at June 12, 2003 11:41 PM