A Study Of The Australia-ASEAN Relations In The Context Of The US Indo-Pacific Strategy

In recent years,a new geopolitical concept: “Indo-Pacific” has gradually prevailed.The Trump administration officially put forward the Indo-Pacific strategy after taking office in 2017.After the 2020 general election,the Biden administration continued to deepen the influence of the United States in the Indian and Pacific Ocean region.The promotion of the Indo-Pacific strategy indicates that the United States reexamines the importance of the Asia-Pacific region,tries to dominate the development of the region,consolidate its traditional influence,and prevent the rise of developing countries from challenging the interests of the United States.It is evident that the India-Pacific strategy has a strong intention to offset China’s development.Against this background,the proposal and implementation of the Indo-Pacific strategy has an important impact on the foreign policy of its ally: Australia.Australia makes use of its geographical position,actively cooperates with the U.S.,follows its step of promoting the Indo-Pacific Strategy,and strives to gain more strategic interests in this region.At the same time,the United States is also actively developing its strategic partnership with Australia,striving to turn Australia into a bridgehead aimed at containing China.For ASEAN countries that are geographically adjacent to Australia,their strategic position is significantly improved: ASEAN has become the core competitive area of the Indo-Pacific strategy.Therefore,since the Trump administration took office,Australia has deepened its economic and political cooperation with ASEAN countries.Instead of being a subsidiary part to the United States,more ASEAN countries hope to seek independence on regional issues,which can cause the contradictions between ASEAN’s expectations and the Indo-Pacific strategy.Therefore,Australia needs to consider the influence of China and the United States in its relations with ASEAN as a major player in the geopolitical scenario.This thesis aims to study the relationship between Australia and ASEAN against the background of the Indo-Pacific strategy,and how this strategy affects Australia’s regional cooperation policy as well as its relevance to China’s peaceful development.Besides,this paper contributes to a more comprehensive and in-depth understanding of the impact and challenges of the Indo-Pacific strategy on China and how China should cope with the current complex and changeable international environment.Firstly,this thesis comprehensively reviews the history of Australia-ASEAN relations.Australia-ASEAN relations have experienced a starting stage,a stage of changes,a stage of new developments and a stage of uncertainties.Secondly,this paper analyzes the current Australia-ASEAN relations influenced by Indo-Pacific strategy.This chapter starts with the introduction of the concept of Indo-Pacific and respectively analyzes how Australia and ASEAN have been adjusting their foreign policies against the backdrop of the Indo-Pacific strategy.Finally,this thesis analyzes the impact of Australia-ASEAN relations on China’s peaceful development within the framework of Indo-Pacific strategy.The main purpose of the Indo-Pacific Strategy is to contain China,so it is necessary to take China’s influence into account when discussing Australia-ASEAN cooperation and conflicts in the context of Indo-Pacific Strategy.Detailed cases of China’s Belt and Road Initiative(BRI),China’s cooperation and aid during the COVID-19 pandemic and the alliances of Quad,AUKUS and ASEAN are analyzed to explore the cooperation and conflict among Australia,ASEAN and China against the Indo-Pacific strategy.Some suggestions are put forward for China’s development in the complex and changeable international environment,and this thesis is also helpful to the development of Australia-ASEAN relations,Sino-Australia and Sino-ASEAN relations.