A Study Of Australia’s South China Sea Policy Since The South China Sea Arbitration

In 2013,Aquino Ⅲ of the Philippines adopted a radical South China Sea policy to launch the South China Sea arbitration case.In 2016,he threw out the so-called ruling result.In response to the unlawful arbitrament in the 2016 South China Sea arbitration case,the Chinese government has repeatedly claimed in public that the arbitrament won’t be accepted or recognized.Australia is trying to take advantage of this case and the opportunity that the US adjusting policy in the South China Sea,to become an active participant as a non-claimant in the South China Sea dispute,and defend the so-called "rules-based international order" to increase its influence in the Indo-Pacific region.During the South China Sea arbitration case,Australia’s South China Sea policy demonstrated a tendentious "neutrality",in line with the US’s South China Sea policy.After the South China Sea arbitration,Australia’s South China Sea policy has made significant adjustments,mainly in three areas:firstly,it has openly intervened in the South China Sea dispute.After the South China Sea arbitration case,Australia took a tough stance towards China,issuing a joint statement with allies expressing serious concern over the South China Sea dispute,stating that the arbitration was final and binding on both China and the Philippine,so it’s right to enhance its defence forces in the South China Sea.Secondly,it’s important to cement the America-Australia ally.Australia actively participates in the US military exercises in the Indo-Pacific region,supporting "freedom of navigation" operations,and establishing multilateral alliances with the US and other Western countries to cooperate on nuclear submarines,which seriously undermines regional peace and stability.Finally,Australia actively seek to establish bilateral and multilateral relations with Southeast Asian countries in the Indo-Pacific region,but at the same time,Australia also strengthens its military cooperation with countries around the South China Sea and holds military exercises.After the South China Sea arbitration case,Australia’s South China Sea policy has evolved from its previously stated position of"not taking sides" to completely supporting the US’s South China Sea policy which means opposing China’s historic rights in the South China Sea.The change in Australia’s South China Sea policy after the South China Sea arbitration case was due to the Australia’s interests in the South China Sea region,which concludes its security interests and its economic interests in this region.Also,Australia’s diplomatic pursuits as a "middle power" led a mistake during the perception of the rising China,and the imbalance in its foreign policy has led to changes in Australia’s South China Sea policy.Lastly,the US is an important factor.As the US’s Asia-Pacific strategy has been adjusted and the US-Australia alliance consolidated,Australia’s South China Sea policy has converged with that of the US.After the South China Sea arbitration,Australia’s South China Sea policy has exacerbated the complexity and instability of the South China Sea region,and hindered the normal development of China-Australia relations,which eventually made a negative impact on Southeast Asia and undermined the stable development as well as the peaceful situation of the Southeast Asian region.With the strategic competition between China and the US intensifying,Australia’s South China Sea policy will further move closer to the US’s and align itself more actively with the US,even exacerbating the complexity of the situation in the South China Sea region.What’s more,Australia’s South China Sea policy will probably continue to deepen its alliance with the US and expand its discourse in the South China Sea region,while increasing its level of militarization in the Indo-Pacific region.