The Australia-U.S.-China Triangular Relationship = The Australia-U.S.-China Triangular Relationship

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This article examines the changing nature of Australian-American relations in the aftermath of the Iraq imbroglio and China`s rise. While many observers see differences in Australian and U.S. approaches toward China as a reflection of different interests, it is the contention of this paper that these different Australian-U.S. perspectives on China are, in fact, premised more upon some highly skewed and fallacious assumptions and beliefs, misconceptions, and myths that have lately come to underlie Australia`s China policy, than upon divergent Australian-U.S. interests. This article looks into the proposition that China`s rise has the potential to divide Australia and America, but concludes that Beijing is unlikely to succeed in driving a wedge between Washington and Canberra (or doing a South Korea on Australia). While in peacetime, Canberra may be unwilling to displease Beijing, Australia will ultimately side with the United States in any conflict because sitting on the fence in regional affairs has never been an option for Australia. The shared values and shared strategic interests ensure broad support for the Australia-U.S. alliance in Australia, which has now expanded into a global partnership encompassing the transnational security issues as well as the traditional geopolitical issues of managing the rise of new powers.