Foreign relations of Australia
Foreign relations of Australia are influenced by its position as a leading trading nation and as a significant donor of humanitarian aid. Australia's foreign policy is guided by a commitment to multilateralism and regionalism, as well as to strong bilateral relations with its allies. Key concerns include free trade, terrorism, refugees, economic co-operation with Asia and stability in the Asia-Pacific. Australia is active in the United Nations and the Commonwealth of Nations. Given its history of starting and supporting important regional and global initiatives, it has been described as a regional middle power par excellence.
It maintains significant ties with ASEAN and has become steadfastly allied with New Zealand, through long-standing ties dating back to the 1800s. The country also has a longstanding alliance with the United States of America. Over recent decades Australia has sought to strengthen its relationship with Asian countries, with this becoming the focus of the country's network of diplomatic missions.
History
Before the Second World War, the British Government handled most of Australia's foreign policy. The critical decision during the war was to more closely align the military and the diplomacy with the United States. The first accredited diplomat sent to any foreign country was Richard Casey, appointed in January 1940. Since 1941, United States has been the most important ally and trading partner. Australian concluded an agreement in 1944 with New Zealand dealing with the security, welfare, and advancement of the people of the independent territories of the Pacific. After the war, Australia played a role in the Far Eastern Commission in Japan and supported Indonesian independence during that country's revolt against the Dutch.Australia was one of the founders of both the United Nations and the South Pacific Commission, and in 1950, it proposed the Colombo Plan to assist developing countries in Asia. In addition to contributing to UN forces in the Korean War – it was the first country to announce it would do so after the United States – Australia sent troops to assist in putting down the communist revolt in Malaya in 1948–60 and later to combat the Indonesian-supported invasion of Sarawak in 1963–65.
Australia sent troops to repel communism and assist South Vietnamese and American forces in the Vietnam War, in a move that stirred up antiwar activism at home. It joined coalition forces in the Persian Gulf War in 1991. Australia has been active in the Australia – New Zealand – United Kingdom agreement and the Five Power Defence Arrangement—successive arrangements with Britain and New Zealand to ensure the security of Singapore and Malaysia.
In 1999 Australian peace keeping forces intervened in East Timor following its referendum to secede from Indonesia. In 2006 Australia sent a contingent of Australian troops to the state to assist in the 2006 East Timor crisis.
International agencies, treaties, and agreements
One of the drafters of the UN Charter, Australia has given firm support to the United Nations and its specialised agencies. It was a member of the Security Council in 1986–87, a member of the Economic and Social Council in 1986–89, and a member of the UN Commission on Human Rights in 1994–96. Australia takes a prominent part in many other UN activities, including peacekeeping, disarmament negotiations, and narcotics control.Australia also is active in meetings of the Commonwealth Heads of Government and the Pacific Islands Forum, and has been a leader in the Cairns Group – countries pressing for agricultural trade reform in the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade negotiations – and in the APEC forum. In September 1999, acting under a UN Security Council mandate, Australia led an international coalition to restore order in East Timor upon Indonesia's withdrawal from that territory.
Australia has devoted particular attention to relations between developed and developing nations, with emphasis on the countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations – Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Brunei – and the island states of the South Pacific. Australia is an active participant in the ASEAN Regional Forum, which promotes regional co-operation on security issues. Australia was a participant at the inaugural ASEAN sponsored East Asia Summit in 2005. Australia's place at the summit was only secured after it agreed to to ASEAN's Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia. Australia had been reluctant to sign the treaty out of concerns regarding how it would affect Australia's obligation under other treaty arrangements including ANZUS.
Papua New Guinea, a former Australian territory, is the largest recipient of Australian assistance. Starting in 1997–99 Australia contributed to the IMF program for Thailand and assisted Indonesia and PNG with regional environmental crisis and drought relief efforts.
Security treaties
Australia is party to the Australia, New Zealand, United States security treaty.It has also been a party of the Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom force.
Trade
Overall Australia's largest trading partners are the United States,South Korea, Japan, China, and the United Kingdom. Australia currently has bilateral Free Trade Agreements with New Zealand, the United States, Thailand and Singapore as of 2007. As well as this, Australia is in the process undertaking studies on Free Trade Agreements with ASEAN, China, Chile, India, Indonesia, and Malaysia.- Australia–Chile Free Trade Agreement
- Australia–China Free Trade Agreement
- Australia–Korea Free Trade Agreement
- Australia New Zealand Closer Economic Relations Trade Agreement
- Australia–United States Free Trade Agreement
- Australia-Fiji Free Trade Agreement
Armaments
According to SIPRI, Australia is the fourth largest importer of major weapons in the world. The US supplied 60 per cent of Australia's imports and Spain 29 per cent. All armed services have received new major arms in 2014–18, but mainly aircraft and ships. The F-35 combat aircraft and antisubmarine warfare aircraft from the USA made up 53 per cent of Australian arms imports in 2014–18, while ships from Spain accounted for 29 per cent. Large deliveries for additional aircraft and ships are outstanding.
Australia is modernising its armed forces but also acquiring weapons that significantly increase its long-range capabilities. Among the weapons imported in 2010–14 were 5 tanker aircraft and the first of 2 amphibious assault ships from Spain, along with 2 large transport aircraft and 4 airborne early warning aircraft from the USA. Australia also received 26 combat aircraft from the US, with 82 more on order, as well as 8 anti-submarine warfare aircraft from the US and 3 Hobart destroyers from Spain. Australia's imports of major weapons increased 37 percent between 2010–2014 and 2014–18, making it the fourth largest importer in the world according to SIPRI.
Foreign missions
Australia has diplomatic representatives in over 90 locations. Australia has official relations with a number of countries. In a number of countries, Australia maintains an embassy, or in the case of Commonwealth countries, a high commission. Australia has consulates in many countries where there are no official government ties in existence, and these serve primarily to assist Australian travellers and business people visiting those countries. A number of Canadian missions provide consular assistance to Australians in countries in Africa where Australia does not maintain an office through the Canada-Australia Consular Services Sharing Agreement.Due to the One China Policy of the People's Republic of China, the Australian Office in Taiwan unofficially represents Australia's interest in Taiwan, serving a function similar to other Australian Consulates.
Bilateral relations
Africa
| Country | Formal Relations Began | Notes |
| See Algeria–Australia relations | ||
| Australia is represented in Burundi by its embassy in Nairobi, Kenya. | ||
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| Australia is represented in Comoros by its embassy in Port Louis, Mauritius. | ||
Both countries have established diplomatic relations. | ||
| 1950 | See Australia–Egypt relations
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| 1957 | ||
| See Australia–Kenya relations | ||
| 1976 | See Australia–Morocco relations | |
| 1960 | ||
| See Australia–South Africa relations | ||
See Australia–Zimbabwe relationsBoth countries have full embassy-level diplomatic relations.
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Americas
Asia
Europe
| Country | Formal Relations Began | Notes |
| 1985 |
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| 9 January 1992 | ||
| 1994 | ||
| 1972 | ||
| 1992 | Australia gave recognition of Croatia in January 1992
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| 1920 | ||
| See Australia–Denmark relations | ||
| See Australia–Estonia relationsAustralia was among the first countries to re-recognise Estonia's independence on 27 August 1991. Both countries re-established diplomatic relations on 21 November 1991. Australia has an embassy in Tallinn. Estonia is represented in Australia through its embassy in Canberra and four honorary consulates. Australia is host to one of the largest communities of Estonians abroad, with 8,232 people identifying as Estonian in the 2006 Australian Census. | ||
| See Australia–Finland relations Diplomatic relations were established on 31 May 1949. Australia is represented in Finland through its embassy in Stockholm, Sweden, and through an honorary consulate in Helsinki. Finland has an embassy in Canberra and a consulate in Sydney. | ||
| See Australia–France relations France and Australia have a close relationship founded on historical contacts, shared values of democracy and human rights, substantial commercial links, and a keen interest in each other's culture.
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| See Australia–Germany relations | ||
| See Australia–Greece relations | ||
| 1973 | ||
| 1972 | ||
| See Australia–Ireland relations | ||
| 21 May 2008 | See Australia–Kosovo relations | |
| 1967 | See Australia–Malta relations
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| Australia is represented in Moldova by its embassy in Moscow. | ||
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| See Australia–Netherlands relations | ||
| 15 February 1994 | ||
| See Australia–Norway relations | ||
| February 1972 | See Australia–Poland relations | |
| See Australia–Romania relations | ||
| 1942 | See Australia–Russia relations | |
| 1966 | See Australia–Serbia relations | |
| 1993 | ||
| 26 October 1967 | See Australia–Spain relations | |
| See Australia–Sweden relations | ||
| 1961 | ||
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See Australia–United Kingdom relationsBritish-Australian relations are close, marked by shared history, culture, institutions and language, extensive people-to-people links, aligned security interests, and vibrant trade and investment co-operation.
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Oceania
Australia is a member of the Pacific Islands Forum and other regional organisations. It has High Commissions in Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu. It has an embassy in the Federated States of Micronesia. Australia provides aid to many of its developing Pacific Islands neighbours, and to Papua New Guinea.Australia's approach to the Pacific has included frequent references to what it has perceived as an "Arc of Instability" among its island neighbours. In August 2006 Australian Defence Minister Brendan Nelson stated to the Australian Parliament:
We cannot afford to have failing states in our region. The so-called 'arc of instability', which basically goes from East Timor through to the south-west Pacific states, means that not only does Australia have a responsibility in preventing and indeed assisting with humanitarian and disaster relief, but also that we cannot allow any of these countries to become havens for transnational crime, nor indeed havens for terrorism.
As from early 2008, the Australian government led by Kevin Rudd began what it called a "new approach" to relations between Australia and the Pacific, appointing a Parliamentary Secretary for Pacific Island Affairs, Duncan Kerr. In February, Kerr and fellow Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Bob McMullan visited Samoa, Tonga and Kiribati in February, and stated:
| Country | Formal Relations Began | Notes |
| See Australia–Fiji relations Relations with Fiji are strained due to Australia's condemnation of the military coup which overthrew the government of Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase in December 2006. Military leader and "interim Prime Minister" Voreqe Bainimarama accused Australia of "bullying" Fiji by applying sanctions and insisting on a swift return to a democratic government. In March 2008 the Fiji Human Rights Commission published a report which alleged that Australia might have been planning an armed intervention in Fiji in late 2006. Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith dismissed the allegations, and stated: "The best thing that can happen in Fiji is not spurious suggestions about Australian activity but having an election, returning Fiji to democracy, respecting human rights". On 4 November 2009, Fijian military leader, Voreqe Bainimarama, expelled the Australian high commissioner James Batley and his New Zealand counterpart. He said that Australia and New Zealand had tried to undermine Fiji's judiciary and weaken its economy. New Zealand and Australia disputed key aspects of Fiji's claims. In response, Australia quickly expelled Fiji's acting high commissioner, Kamlesh Kumar Arya.
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| See Australia–Federated States of Micronesia relations | ||
| See Australia–Nauru relationsAustralian-Nauruan relations go back almost a century. Australia administered Nauru as a dependent territory from 1914 to 1968, and has remained one of Nauru's foremost economic and aid partners thereafter. Relations between Australia and Nauru were essentially framed by the Pacific Solution, whereby Nauru housed a detention centre for unauthorised refugee applicants who had attempted to enter Australia, and Australia provided financial aid in return. The detention centre was closed by Australia in February 2008, causing Nauru to express concern regarding the future of its economy.
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See Australia–New Zealand relationsThe relationship between Australia and New Zealand is exceptionally close on both the national and interpersonal scales. This close relationship goes back to the time of the first World War and the ANZAC Spirit forged at Gallipoli. Former New Zealand Prime Minister Mike Moore declared that Australians and New Zealanders have more in common than New Yorkers and Californians.
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| See Australia–Palau relations | ||
| See Australia–Papua New Guinea relationsPapua New Guinea is Australia's closest neighbour, and former dependent territory. Relations between Canberra and Port Moresby are close, although there have been tensions in recent years. Papua New Guinea has developed much closer relations with Australia than with Indonesia, the only country it shares a border with. The two countries are Commonwealth realms, and Papua New Guinea benefits from economic development aid from Australia. Under the government of John Howard, Australia's relations with Michael Somare's Papua New Guinea worsened, primarily because of the "Julian Moti affair", but also because of the "shoes episode". | ||
See Australia–Solomon Islands relationsUnder the government of John Howard, Australia's relations with Manasseh Sogavare's Solomon Islands were strained, primarily because of the "Julian Moti affair". Sogavare notably accused Australia of conducting neo-colonialism in the Solomon Islands via RAMSI. On 1 October 2007, the Solomon Islands' Foreign Affairs Minister Patteson Oti addressed the General Assembly of the United Nations, and accused Australia of undermining his country's sovereignty:Mine is too nationalistic a government to become captive to the fortunes which justify our perpetual retention under siege. My remain unmoved by Australian resistance to our attempts to reclaim our sovereignty and independence. This led Australia to exercise its right of reply, denying the accusation. Relations subsequently improved when both Howard and Sogavare lost office in December 2007, and their successors -Kevin Rudd and Derek Sikua- immediately set out to improve relations between Canberra and Honiara. Australia currently leads the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands, at the request of the Governor-General of the Solomon Islands.
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See Australia–Tonga relationsFollowing the 2006 riots in Tonga, Australia sent police officers, at Tonga's request, to help stabilise the situation in the kingdom.
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