Paul Keating's Asia Thinking And Its Impact On Australia-Asia Relations

The dissertation is a study on Keating's Asia1 thinking and its impact on Australia-Asia relations.On the basis of the accurate discussions on the essentialities and characteristics of Keating's Asia thinking,Australians' comments of Keating's Asia thinking and rethinking of Keating's Asia thinking,the dissertation argues that Keating's Asia thinking is the product of the full considerations on how to maximize Australia's national interests in the post-Cold War era,and the successive Australian governments regardless of passive inheritance or active adoption did not reverse the essence of Keating's Asia thinking,i.e.Australia's national interests could be maximized through engaging with Asia.Keating's open,multilateral,regionalized,active and inclusive Asia thinking would continuously fight with the old obsessive ideology which was obsolete,behind the times,opinionated and over self-indulgent.Such ideological collision would be of a long-term nature,and consequently there would be increasing complexities in the Australia-Asia relations.However,from outward appearance to inner essence,and from the fact that the policy of engagement with Asia has been a bipartisan one,it can be believed that Keating's Asia thinking would continue influencing Australia's diplomacy with Asia positively,and provide guidance for Australia to calibrate its Asian policy timely so as to promote Australia to move towards the win-win situation for Australia-Asia relations.Keating's Asia thinking focuses on two major issues: Australia's identity and Australia's national interests.For Australia's identity,Keating claims unambiguously that Australia is Australia,i.e.Australia is neither the deputy of western countries nor an Asian country.This assertion highlights Keating's standpoint of defining Australia's national identity from the basis of Australia's own history,culture,values and geography.In his Asia thinking,he regarded the process of Australia's engagement with Asia as both Australia's quest for that identity and a way to make such identity clear.Keating's appeal for such identity was reflected in his assertion of regional cooperation within the framework of multilateralism.Keating thought that Australia's active participation and role in the regional institutions precisely embodied his standpoint of Australia's identity on the consideration of Australia's own peculiarities.Besides,the proposal of making Australia a republic was also a major component of Keating's Asia thinking in terms of Australia's identity.Keating believed that a republic Australia was not only consistent with Australia's political appeal of an independent diplomatic image but also served Australia's full engagement with Asia well.Keating held the view that a republic Australia was not to reverse Australia's values or democracy but to win more trust and credits internationally.In the aspect of national interests,Keating's Asia thinking concerned economy,politics and security.Despite not narrowly limited to the economic aspect,Keating's Asia thinking was to benefit Australia economically for the most direct purpose.Politically,Keating's Asia thinking aimed to enhance Australia's influence and role globally and regionally.The political appeal consisted of making Australia a relevant participant of the region,making Australia's independent voice heard as well as seeking security in Asia rather than from Asia.Keating held the view that the best way for Australia to gain participation,to let the world hear Australia's voice and to win a vote in the councils which were decisive to the region and Australia's future,was to become the best networked country in the region.Keating's Asia thinking manifested the practical consideration of the balance between Australia's history and geography.The old obsessive ideology was the internal cause of the naissance of Keating's Asia thinking.Australia which is located in the South hemisphere and surrounded by the Pacific and Indian Oceans has been interacting with Asia since the early 19 th century.Historically,it is embedded with western culture and democratic values.Geographically,it is a close neighbor to Asia.The asymmetry of geography and history leads to Australia's Asian policy a systematical duplicity.For one thing Australia expects to rely on Asia to become rich,for another it depends on Britain and America to maintain its own security and self-righteous superiority.That paradoxical views of Asia cause Australia-Asia relations get bogged down in dilemma.Hence,Keating's Asia thinking has emerged.It not only reflects Australia's political elite's new thinking of Australia-Asia relations,but also embodies the tendency that geographical interests are increasingly more dominant in Australia's diplomatic concept than history and culture.The end of the Cold War provides external condition for the birth of Keating's Asia thinking.In the post-Cold War era,when military and political conflicts between different political systems and different regional groups have been greatly alleviated,economic interests become the primary considerations in dealing with international relations.Meanwhile,the bonds of economic globalization and the rise of the Asian economies have brought Australia which is geographically close to Asia to rethink its relations with Asia.Keating's Asia thinking which is grounded in Australia's own appeals in terms of economy,politics and diplomacy is a new attempt to re-adjust Australia-Asia relations.It strives to engage with Asia in all aspects in order to better achieve Australia's national interests.As a new try of Australia's diplomatic concept of its relations with Asia in the post-Cold War period,Keating's Asia thinking,which is characterized by being open,multilateral,regionalized,active and inclusive,stressed Australia's growing engagement with Asia on the premise of the full and realistic considerations of Australia's national interests and the imbalance of the level of history development between Australia and Asia.The outstanding innovation of Keating's Asia thinking is its answer to Australia's identity,so that the paradox of Australia's conventional Asian views could be solved and Australia's foreign relations with Asia could be vitalized.It aims to engage better with Asia in aspects of economy,politics security and culture,but its final goal is still to realize Australia's national interests in the post-Cold War era.Geopolitically,Keating's Asia thinking expects to make Australia have a foothold in the Asia-Pacific region and an important relevant part of the region.Furthermore,Australia could make its own voice heard regionally and globally.Economically,it intends to grasp the opportunities of the economic blooming in Asia to meet the new economic demands of Asia and find a breakthrough of Australia's domestic economic troubles.Regarding culture and values,Keating's Asia thinking does not take for granted that Australian culture and values are antipathy with Asian ones.Even though there have been differences,they are not the obstacles that could not be surmounted.While implementing the new Asia thinking,one inevitable thing is that Keating's Asia thinking would not escape from being challenged by the old mindset which was due to its imbalanced over-emphasis on Australia's history and values but neglecting Australia's geography.Such old mindset have showed its backward side in Australia's diplomatic practice,but it is still rather vigorous.Its strong inertia would prolong that process.However,in the face of Australia's actual national interests,Keating's Asia thinking which has been increasingly recognized and enriched,continues in Australia's diplomatic concept.Furthermore,the continuity of Keating's Asia thinking has been embodied in Keating's statements after 1996 as well.The issues concerned were preservation of Australia's own cultural identity,globalization,a world view from Asia,new economic complementarities,regionalization,Australia's security and defence,Australia's identity,attitude towards China's rise,and self-appraisal.Experiencing the leverage of Keating's Asia thinking on Australia's foreign policy,Australia's successive governments continued their attempts and explorations of Australia's relations with Asia.From John Howard to Malcolm Turnbull,Australia has continued and heightened its policy of engaging with Asia.The eleven years of John Howard's foreign policy to Asia was characterized by nostalgia and his moderate adjustment on Keating's Asia thinking.For the Rudd's and Gillard's administrations,whose foreign policy was featured by ambiguity and exploration,the correctness of realizing Australia's national interests by engaging with Asia was indisputable.Regarding Tony Abbott and Malcolm Turnbull,their Asian policy was characterized by paradox and over self-indulgence.Unfortunately Australia seemingly had got lost in its way of engaging with Asia particularly when Turnbull government misinterpreted Keating's political appeal of being more independent diplomatically.Its passive and provocative attitudes to show Australia's defensiveness and sensitivity left an impression that the Turnbull government failed to deal with the problems which were doomed to appear with Australia's in-depth engagement with Asia.But its irrational moves on the specific issues in Asia were virtually based on the diplomatic strategy of engaging actively with Asia,and were constantly adjusted due to the actual deviation from Australia's national interests.In other words,whether it was the harmony of Australia-Asia relations or the friction of regional specific issues,it was the inheritance of Keating's Asia thinking.Those diplomatic frowns on specific issues in certain period of time would not change the fact that Australia's successive governments' diplomatic ideology was consistent with Keating's Asia thinking in terms of intentions and goals which were to maximize Australia's national interests through diplomatic means of engaging with Asia.And that reflected exactly the essence of Keating's Asia thinking.That is to say,the policy of engaging with Asia has been a bipartisan acquiescence of Australia's Asian policy.Keating's Asia thinking received different comments in Australia.The type of view from Australian politicians thought that Keating's Asia thinking was turning around a national psyche.For Australian academia,more trust was expressed than doubts.Regarding the public opinion in the 1990 s,Keating's Asia thinking was considered to be too remote and high to catch up.But as time went by,the public opinion which had been stimulated by Keating's Asia thinking has undergone tremendous changes so far.Keating's Asia thinking has not been considered too remote and radical for the majority Australians nowadays.But at the same time,it cannot be ignored that this does not mean that Keating's Asia thinking has become the mainstream among the people.In general,the characteristic of the public opinion on Keating's Asia thinking was: wait and see.Based on the above discussions,comparisons,and analyses,firstly it could be found that Australia's full engagement with Asia policy which was promoted by Keating's Asia thinking was not only to pursue economic interests but also was endowed with Australia's political appeal,which was to make Australia a relevant part of Asia,was weightier to push forward Australia's relations with Asia.It has become the most important feature for Keating and the successive Australian governments' ideology in considering the diplomacy of Australia in the post-Cold War era.That feature was fairly obscure at the beginning of the 1990 s,however,with the in-depth engagement with Asia,Australia's political appeal turned out to be more and more prominent.Since 2008,Australia has frequently voiced its views on Asian affairs,sometimes its attitude towards China displays disharmony,and this kind of disharmonious voice may not be the real voice of Australia.However,its eager political performance to show its own position is consistent with its intention to have a pivotal political role in Asia.Secondly,it could also be found that Australia's diplomacy under the framework of Keating's Asia thinking is gradually on its way from the separation of geo-economy and geo-politics to the unity of both.During the process of unity,one thing that needed to be pointed out is that it is too far-fetched to attribute to Asia some of Australia's own social problems which have been brought about by its own policy of engaging with Asia.Undoubtedly,Australia's condescending and unfair logic does not intend to depart from Keating's Asia thinking,but it is detrimental to the policy of active engagement with Asia and the healthy development of Australia-Asia relations.That wrong logic and deeds in blaming others for the problems are the main reasons that have made the relations between Australia and Asia twist and turn recently.Thirdly,it is suggested that the discourse and understanding of Keating's Asia thinking could not be separated from the background of times.The point that Australia's successive governments' Asian policy has not deviated from the essential ideology of Keating's Asia thinking could be clearly seen when it is to be interpreted in the context of times.Even though there have been twists and turns in Australia-Asia relations,particularly since 2017,the sharp edge that Australian governments have shown in their diplomatic performance left an intuitive impression that Australia has been backtracking its Asian policy,what minds the attention is that those intuitive judgment is easy to be led astray by appearances.The superficial sharp edge of Australia's Asian diplomacy just reveals its inner desire to have more political voice in Asian affairs.That intention would hurt Australia-Asia relations,especially Australia-China relations,but its inner intention is to seek more sense of existence and integration in Asia-Pacific affairs,rather than deviating from Keating's Asia thinking.Under the influence of Keating's Asia thinking,Australian governments explore actively in order to seek practicable approaches in the new era to realize Australia's national interests in the Asia Pacific region.Whether it was Australia's policy to adapt itself to the changing surrounding circumstances through crossing the river by touching the stones,or it was to highlight its own role in the region,these are the inevitable stages in the process of Australia's transformation of its foreign policy towards Asia in the post-Cold War era.Meanwhile,the policy of engaging with Asia which has undertaken the essentialities of Keating's Asia thinking has already been Australia's bipartisan acquiescence in its Asian policy.Under the guidance of Keating's Asia thinking,there would be repeated adaptation of Australia's specific diplomatic measures to Keating's Asia thinking,and even the Australia-Asia relations would be hurt due to Australia's unreasonable words and deeds.However,the optimum way to get along after adaptation and repetition would gradually bring about the realization of the win-win situation for Australia-Asia relations.