| In recent years, with the deterioration of the disputes in South China Sea, more and more countries outside the region begun to meddle in these disputes, which complicated the situation in this region. Australia was a middle power located between Indian and Pacific Oceans, with no sovereignty dispute in but with very important economic and security interests within the region of South China Sea,especially in the Southeast Asian. With the worsening situation and shifting powers in the South China Sea, Australia feels it was urgent to protect its threatened economic security and national defense, hence, Australian policy toward South China Sea has achieved a major shift from “wait-and-see†policy to “intervention†policy, and as a result Australia became one of those countries outside while meddled in this region.Australia’s “intervention†policy composed by “neutral stance†characterized by “not choose sides†policy and “cautiously active†principles of action, which was determined by Australian middle power status and the constraints factors from China and America. Overall, Australia’s meddling makes these disputes in South China Sea more internationalized and the situation more complicated. With the degree of Australian involvement still in primary stage, the destructive effect of its involvement in the region is still small; hence maintaining the overall stability of the situation in the South China Sea is Australia dominating objective and main way it can take to play the most important role. |
