Australia, mediator between US and China?
(Agencies/chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2005-10-06 09:29

A conservative Australian government think tank has suggested Prime Minister John Howard be cautious in playing a role of mediator between the United States and the rising world power, China.

The Centre for Independent Studies, headquartered in Sydney, has implemented an examination of Australian foreign policy. It said the emergence of China as an economic and political power will have important implications for the strategic balance in Asia.

The center said Australia has tried to guard itself against the rapidly changing political landscape in the region through its ties to the US and China. It said the Howard Government had sought to respond to these dilemmas "with a balancing act".

"This has entailed closer political and strategic ties to the United States and stronger economic ties with China.

"Striking this balance may become more difficult should Sino-American competition deepen and broaden."

Australia already has found itself unwilling or unable to say how it would behave if America and China came to blows over the question of Taiwan independence, which are vehemently opposed by a majority of Chinese. Washington has said it only recognizes Beijing government, and Taiwan is part of China.

The report warns that Australia should not believe it will be the nation that keeps relations between the US and China “harmonious”, and not on a colliding road.

"Those who promote this image of Australia as a bridge between the current superpower and the rising superpower should remember that bridges also get walked over," it said. "The Australian Government should not try to balance relations between Washington and Beijing. It cannot.

"Instead it should be thinking prudentially about how best to defend and promote Australian interests."

The report suggests the best approach for Australia as it walks the foreign policy tightrope is political sovereignty.

"For a middle power like Australia, political sovereignty is one of its most valuable strategic assets," the centre said, because it will guide Australian government against unacceptable threats and intimidations while implementing its foreign policies.

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