AUSTRALIA: Seeking a Bigger Global Role

By Stephen de Tarczynski Reprint | | Print |

Analysis by Stephen de Tarczynski

MELBOURNE, Apr 28 2008 (IPS) - Recent overseas trips by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd are said to have projected a more robust image of Australia onto the world and revealed a nascent desire to be regarded as a serious global player.

“The purpose of the visit is to advance Australia’s security, foreign policy and business interests, and to advance Australia’s contribution to the global response on climate change,” said Kevin Rudd in a statement prior to leaving on a 17-day world tour in late March.

And to some extent he did that. His discussions with western leaders appear to have largely gone according to script with cooperation on trade, and economic and environmental issues being high on the agendas. Yet Rudd showed, significantly, that he is willing to “mix it” with the big players on the global scene in areas where Australia has often followed.

During his trip, Rudd became the first Australian leader to attend a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) summit, where he continued to pressure those NATO members perceived to be lacking in their commitment to the war in Afghanistan to fulfil what Australia, the United States, Britain and others believe to be their duties.

It may be argued that the pressure applied by Australia – the largest non-NATO contributor to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) with around 1,000 personnel in Afghanistan – had a minimal effect compared to the influence of the likes of the U.S., U.K. and Canada, which had threatened not to extend its current mission if NATO failed to provide further troops.

But it would be a mistake to evaluate Rudd’s stance on Australia’s commitment in Afghanistan in isolation. The Labor government has also been forthright in demanding access to key strategy documents and top-level intelligence.

Additionally, Rudd formally notified U.S. President Bush during their meeting at the White House of Australia’s decision to withdraw its combat troops from Iraq, albeit a move compensated by increased financial and humanitarian aid. Although Australia had already publicly declared its intention to withdraw, Rudd showed that unlike his predecessor, John Howard, he was willing and able to walk out-of-step with Australia’s closest military partner.

Although there is little surprise in a Labor government taking a more independent foreign policy course than the one chartered by the former conservative coalition, the fact that Rudd was also canvassing support for an Australian bid for a non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council from 2013 – Australia last sat on the 15-member council in 1986 – indicates that he believes Australia has greater potential.

Perhaps this desire to place Australia at once in a position of leadership and vulnerability is best illustrated by Rudd’s dealings with China. The Australian PM has been lauded both here and in China for his interest, involvement – he spent several years as a diplomat in Beijing – and fluency in Mandarin. He was provided an honour guard during a welcome ceremony in China on the last leg of his world tour despite having upset the Asian superpower for criticising its human rights record while at a news conference with Bush in Washington.

But he did not stop there. Besides also meeting with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf in China – where he chided the Pakistani leader on “the cross-border flow of Taliban and Al Qaeda operatives” – Rudd reiterated his feelings on what he described as “significant human rights problems in Tibet” during a speech in Mandarin at Peking University.

While Chinese leaders, including President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao, dismissed Rudd’s assertions outright – China sees Tibet as an internal issue – Rudd was still able to make headway in areas which will bring the two nations closer.

Already inextricably linked – China is now Australia’s largest trading partner, with Australian coal feeding Chinese power stations – the two nations are jointly investing in ways to tackle climate change. Rudd has also spoken of the need to engage China politically, espousing the idea of a regional security pact to stem from those nations involved in the talks on North Korea’s nuclear program.

At first glance, Rudd’s positions on China may appear ambiguous. Yet on closer inspection, his ability to simultaneously engage and criticise speaks volumes for a brave, new Australia.

Australia’s self-assured foray into world affairs is also evident in Labor’s view of the Pacific region, where Rudd travelled in early March, visiting Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.

In an apparent attempt to distance his government from that of his predecessor – relations between Australia and several Pacific nations became strained during Howard’s tenure – Rudd committed Australia “to beginning a new era of cooperation with the island nations of the Pacific.”

Dr Sinclair Dinnen, from the Australian National University’s research school of Pacific and Asian studies, says that the main difference in Australia’s involvement in the Pacific between the current government and that of Howard will be in tone rather than substance.

“There was obviously a very significant increase in engagement under the former Howard government, particularly since 2003 with the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI), and what we’re likely to see under this government is continued engagement of a fairly high order,” Dinnen told IPS.

While the emphasis of Australia’s involvement in the region is on “partnership” – the Port Moresby Declaration, signed on March 7, commits Australia to negotiate bilateral partnerships with island nations for development in areas such as infrastructure, health, education and governance – the touted increase in aid is subject to island nations embracing commitments.

Although this is viewed in some quarters as a case of Australia’s-way-or-the-highway, Dinnen argues that greater emphasis will be placed on “negotiation and insuring that the recipients are fully involved in the direction and implementation of whatever assistance is provided.”

And with Rudd – who warned while in opposition of an influx of refugees from the Pacific if greater support was not provided – seeking to host the 2009 Pacific Island Leader’s meeting, Australia is puffing out its chest in the Pacific too.

(EMD/IPS/AP/IP/WD/DV/SDT/RDR/08)