Australia-Japan Relations In The Context Of The "Indo-Pacific Strategy"

Australia and Japan,as two important allies of the US,are not only the northern and southern axes of the "Indo-Pacific Strategy",but also the key factors in the shaping of the"Indo-Pacific" construct.Since the end of the Cold War,the balance of power among major countries has been constantly changing,and for the first-time world power has begun to tilt to the non-Western countries.The world economic centre gradually shifts to the Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean regions.The US "Indo-Pacific Strategy",aimed at containing China’s development and maintaining its international and regional hegemony,was born under this background.Since the beginning of the 20th century,Australia-Japan relationship has gone from hostility to "constructive partnership",and finally to "quasi-alliance".The US has contributed a lot to the development of Australia-Japan relationship,but it also takes advantage of these two countries to be its critical tools in the "Indo-Pacific" no matter under the Trump administration or the Biden administration.Therefore,this thesis attempts to conduct a complete and in-depth research on Australia-Japan relations in the context of the US "Indo-Pacific Strategy".Moreover,attention is also paid to Australia and Japan’s engagement in expanding their multilateral relations with other countries.For instance,they are involved in Trilateral Strategic Dialogue(TSD)with the US and Quadrilateral Security Dialogue(Quad)with India and the US.Besides,Japan has become the key consideration of the expansion of the Five Eyes,and Quad is intended to upgrade itself to be Quad Plus,with the purpose of include some European and ASEAN nations.In the "Indo-Pacific" context,the US is weaving a web to curb China’s development,of which Australia and Japan are the main forces.However,there are divergences and discontents between Australia and Japan,and there are some limits in their cooperation even if these two countries are further connected by the"Indo-Pacific Strategy".More importantly,the US,who is used to abandoning its allies for its own national interests,is not reliable enough.Therefore,Australia and Japan,which are complementary and highly dependent economically on China,need to take the China factor into consideration and rethink the "Indo-Pacific Strategy".