Australia’s Diplomacy Of Minilateralism In The Context Of Sino-US Strategic Competition

In the context of Sino-US strategic competition,Australia has shifted the foreign policy.One of the obvious features is its emphasis on minilateralism.The impetus of the change comes from the dilemma caused by Sino-US strategic competition.By optimising its power projection,strengthening its relationships with smaller neighbouring countries,and bringing in other key powers,Australia is steadily strengthening minilateral cooperation with other countries,which shows exclusivity,utilitarianism and flexibility.From the theoretical perspective of minilateralism,this paper explores the reasons why Australia’s foreign policy began to develop minilateral cooperation.Australia’s minilateralism is based on Australia’s recognition of its role as a middle power and the increasingly tense environment influenced competition between China and the US.Objectively,the decrease of alliance promise,the contradiction of different relations between countries,and the discordance of capability and goals lead to the development of minilateralism in Australia’s diplomacy.Subjectively,minilateral cooperation meets Australia’s need to strategically hedge against China,conform to the strategic planning of its key allies such as the United States,and also enhance Australia’s power penetration in key regions.The influence of minilateral cooperation on Australia’s foreign policy mainly has three aspects:first,the strategic risks of cooperation can be shared;second,in the process of promoting minimultilateral cooperation,the reliance on small multilateral mechanism is further deepened;third,additional conflicts of national interests may be induced.Although Australia has gained broader space for policy choices through minilateral cooperation,which,however,also has some limitations,such as the lack of potential of minilateral mechanisms to expand members,weak function of shaping a new regional order,and difficulty in promoting comprehensive and deep cooperation.As a perspective to understand the foreign policy behaviors of international actors,the application of the theory of minilateralism in the study of Australian foreign policy can not only provide new ideas for exploring the internal logic of the dynamic transformation of Australian diplomacy,providing a reasonable perspective for understanding the transformation of Australia’s external strategy,but also helps to expand the applicability and explanatory power of the theory of minilateralism,thus,providing some theoretical reference value for China to re-understand Australia,position China-Australia relationship and adjust its strategy towards Australia.