Diplomatic history of Australia
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The diplomatic history of Australia encompasses the historical events surrounding Australian foreign relations. Following the global change in the dynamics of international state of affairs in the 20th century, this saw a transition within Australia's diplomatic situation to broaden outside of exclusively commonwealth and western European nations. Its core relationship was with Great Britain until 1941, and with the United States and New Zealand since then as represented by ANZUS. In the 21st century trade has soared with China. However relations have cycled back and forth from friendly to strained. For recent relations see also Foreign relations of Australia.
1930s: Appeasement
During the 1930s, Australian foreign policy was centralised around the fear of war and an eagerness to appease Germany, Japan and Italy. The Australian government gave considerable support to the appeasement policies of the Chamberlain government in London regarding Germany. However, as a consequence of supporting Chamberlain, many Australians experienced fear due to Japan's strong military and aggressive foreign policy[1] whereas Australia was still an evolving nation to wield any independent force in world affairs in the 1930s.[2]
Shift in dependence from Britain to United States
At the beginning of World War II, Australia was part of the commonwealth of the British Empire, and depended on Britain for its security against Japan.[3] On 3 September 1939, Prime Minister Robert Menzies announced, "Great Britain has declared war on Germany, and as a result, Australia is also at war... There can be no doubt that where Great Britain stands, there stand the people of the entire British world".[4] Australia was the first nation to come to Great Britain's aid, sending its combat divisions to fight in the Middle East and North Africa.[5]
The unprecedented Japanese attack on an American naval base at Pearl Harbour, Hawaii, on 7 December 1941, led to the formal entry of the United States into the war.
Relations with the United States
In March 1942 after the Japanese attacks on Darwin, U.S.
Immigration
Australian society changed greatly between 1945 and 1972, undoing the monoracial immigration policies of
Australia looked first to Britain for migrants. In the beginning, the assisted immigration scheme was popular among young married couples and single people. It was inexpensive, an adventure and an opportunity. After only a year, there was a shortage of ships and immigrant numbers dropped. The immigration targets were not being met. For the first time in a revolutionary step for both Australian society and international relations, Australia reluctantly looked outside Britain for migrants.
Over the next twenty years, patterns of immigration continued to change. The government encouraged more people to come to Australia and many more assisted agreements were made with countries. In the late 1950s, more immigrants began to be accepted from the
Changing global opinions in the late 20th century resulted in particular hostility to the
Communism and the Cold War era
Although the
As the international community polarised into opposing alliances led by the respective superpowers, Australia too moved to strengthen its alliance with the United States. Along with the
Vietnam War
When communist North Vietnam infiltrated South Vietnam, the Western Bloc viewed it as a fundamental step in what could result in the communist subjugation of the democratic world. In a country gripped by this fear, the government's defence policy was dominated by the idea of "forward defence", in which Australia would seek to prevent the Communist "thrust into South-East Asia". The committal of troops to the Vietnam War was viewed as an attempt by the Menzies Government to strengthen the alliance with the USA following Great Britain's withdrawal "east of Suez".[24]
With his arrival in October 1966,
The intensity of conflict in Australia over this issue contributed to the 1972 election of the first Labor government in 23 years. The new Prime Minister, Gough Whitlam immediately abolished conscription and withdrew troops from Vietnam. The US Signed a peace treaty for Vietnam in 1973, after withdrawing all of its troops in 1972. South Vietnam, however, was invaded and overwhelmed by North Vietnam in 1975.[29]
Détente with communism
The Whitlam government, a new type of Labor government, developed a general opposition to the US and especially President Nixon who they viewed as especially conservative and paranoid.
Foreign Policy under Bob Hawke, 1983–1991
APEC
One of the most significant foreign policy achievement of the Government took place in 1989, after Hawke proposed a south-east Asian region-wide forum for leaders and economic ministers to discuss issues of common concern. After winning the support of key countries in the region, this led to the creation of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC).[33][34] The first APEC meeting duly took place in Canberra in November 1989; the economic ministers of Australia, Brunei, Canada, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and the United States all attended. APEC would subsequently grow to become one of the most pre-eminent high-level international forums in the world, particularly after the later inclusions of China and Russia, and the Keating government's later establishment of the APEC Leaders' Forum.[33][34]
Cambodia
Elsewhere in Asia, the Hawke government played a significant role in the build-up to the United Nations
United States
The Hawke government pursued a close relationship with the United States, assisted by Hawke's close friendship with
Commonwealth boycott of South Africa
Through his role on the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, Hawke played a leading role in ensuring the Commonwealth initiated an international boycott on foreign investment into South Africa, building on work undertaken by his predecessor Malcolm Fraser, and in the process clashing publicly with British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who initially favoured a more cautious approach. The resulting boycott, led by the Commonwealth, was widely credited with helping bring about the collapse of apartheid, and resulted in a high-profile visit by Nelson Mandela in October 1990, months after the latter's release from a 27-year stint in prison. During the visit, Mandela publicly thanked the Hawke government for the role it played in the boycott.[38]
Foreign policy under Paul Keating, 1991 to 1996
Indonesia
Throughout his time as Prime Minister, Keating took a number of steps to strengthen and develop bilateral links with Australia's closest neighbours; he frequently said that there was no country in the world that was more important to Australia than Indonesia, and undertook his first overseas visit to the country, becoming the first Australian Prime Minister to do so.[39] Keating made a conscious effort to develop a personal relationship with Indonesian President Suharto, and to include Indonesia in multilateral forums attended by Australia. Keating's friendship with Suharto was criticised by human rights activists supportive of East Timorese independence, and by Nobel Peace Prize winner José Ramos-Horta. The Keating government's cooperation with the Indonesian military, and the signing of the Timor Gap Treaty, were also strongly criticised by these same groups. It was alleged by some that Keating was overlooking alleged human rights abuses by the Indonesian government as part of his effort to dramatically increase Australia's cultural, diplomatic and economic ties with Asia.[40]
APEC
Following the creation of the
Foreign policy under John Howard, 1996 to 2007
East Timor
Although new
War in Afghanistan
Howard had first met US President
In April 2002, Howard was the first Australian prime minister to attend a royal funeral, that of
War in Iraq
In March 2003, Australia joined the US-led "
Multiculturalism and the end of ‘white Australia’
This focus of multiculturalism and a focus on Asia in Australia foreign policy was not lost because of the dismissal of the Whitlam government in 1975; contact and understanding continued to grow during the following decade.
China
Relationships with China continued to improve until the Chinese government massacred thousands of students in the
Relations between the two countries began to deteriorate in 2018 due to growing Australian concerns regarding Chinese political influence in various sectors of Australian society including Chinese students and residents, the national and state governments, universities and the media.[54][55] There is sharp criticism regarding China's human rights policies regarding the treatment of Hong Kong and the Uyghur minority. Furthermore Canberra has been troubled by China's aggressive stance on the South China Sea dispute. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated tensions after Australia called for an international, independent inquiry into the origins of the disease. The subsequent restrictions that China made to its trade policies have been attacked as political retaliation and economic coercion against Australia. In 2021 Canberra disallowed the effort by the state of Victoria to join China's vast Belt and Road Initiative as a potential threat to Australia's security.[56]
Indonesia
Australia had a developing relationship was Indonesia. Whitlam did not object to the invasion of Portuguese Timor by Indonesian troops in 1975 because maintaining good diplomatic relations with Indonesia was considered the highest priority at the time.[57] The government could only express regret for the Timorese people as they were not prepared to go to war. Hawke and especially Keating also supported Indonesia despite their continuing maltreatment of the East Timorese people. When John Howard was elected in 1996, he saw the opportunity to distinguish himself from the previous Labor approach to the East Timor conflict.[58] Immediately he sent peacekeeping forces into East Timor and advocated Australia's support for their independence. The role of this support of an essentially Christian country against a Muslim nation was detrimental to Australia's reputation with other Muslim countries.[59]
Vietnam
Since the 1970s (when Vietnamese boat people started coming), wave after wave of refugees from distressed countries in Asia and elsewhere have sought haven in Australia.[60] Many have died making the hazardous journey. How to deal with them has been a highly contentious political issue.[61]
Notes
- ^ Eric Montgomery Andrews, Isolationism and appeasement in Australia: reactions to the European crises, 1935-1939 (Australian National University Press, 1970)
- ^ David Samuel Bird, J. A. Lyons, the Tame Tasmanian: Appeasement and Rearmament in Australia, 1932-39 (Australian Scholarly Publishing, 2008)
- ^ "BBC - WW2 People's War - Timeline". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
- ^ "Menzies Speech: Declaration of War". australianscreen. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
- ^ David Day. Menzies and Churchill at War (1993) pp 1-21
- ISBN 978-1-57488-222-3.
- ^ "How the fall of Singapore changed Australia". www.abc.net.au. 14 February 2017. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
- ISBN 9780313314988.
- ^ "GENERAL MACARTHUR TAKES COMMAND OF AUSTRALIA'S DEFENCE". www.pacificwar.org.au. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
- ^ kanopiadmin (10 April 2014). "War and Time Preference: The American Army in Australia". Mises Institute. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
- ISBN 9781107470880.
- ^ corporateName=National Museum of Australia; address=Lawson Crescent, Acton Peninsula. "National Museum of Australia - End of the White Australia policy". www.nma.gov.au. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Populate or Perish? | Newgeography.com". www.newgeography.com. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
- ^ "Post World War II British Migration to Australia". Museums Victoria Collections. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
- ^ "The Immigration Restriction Act and the White Australia policy". National Archives of Australia.
- ^ corporateName=Commonwealth Parliament; address=Parliament House, Canberra. "Australia's Migration Program". www.aph.gov.au. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ corporateName=Commonwealth Parliament; address=Parliament House, Canberra. "Multiculturalism: a review of Australian policy statements and recent debates in Australia and overseas". www.aph.gov.au. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ David McLean, "From British colony to American satellite? Australia and the USA during the cold war." Australian Journal of Politics & History (2006) 52#1 pp: 64-79.
- ^ Peter Geoffrey Edwards and Gregory Pemberton, Crises and Commitments: The Politics and Diplomacy of Australia's Involvement in Southeast Asian Conflicts 1948-1965 (Allen & Unwin in association with the Australian War Memorial, 1992)
- ^ Ritchie Ovendale, The English-Speaking Alliance: Britain, the United States, the Dominions and the Cold War 1945-1951 (Routledge, 1985).
- ^ "US Enters the Korean Conflict". National Archives. 15 August 2016. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
- ^ corporateName=Commonwealth Parliament; address=Parliament House, Canberra. "ANZUS After Fifty Years". www.aph.gov.au. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - S2CID 153670534.
- S2CID 144582369.
- ^ James Curran, "Beyond the Euphoria: Lyndon Johnson in Australia and the Politics of the Cold War Alliance." Journal of Cold War Studies (2015).
- ^ Piccini, Jon. "Issues that swung elections: Labor's anti-war message falls flat in landslide loss in 1966". The Conversation. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
- ^ corporateName=Department of Veterans' Affairs; address=21 Genge St, Civic/Canberra City. "All the way with LBJ | Anzac Portal". anzacportal.dva.gov.au. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Peter Geoffrey Edwards, A Nation at War: Australian Politics, society and diplomacy during the Vietnam War 1965-1975 (Allen & Unwin, 1997)
- ^ Department Of State. The Office of Electronic Information, Bureau of Public Affairs. "Ending the Vietnam War, 1973-1975". 2001-2009.state.gov. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
- ^ R. Catley, "Australia and the great powers 1933–83." Australian Journal of International Affairs 37.3 (1983): 143-149.
- ^ "Fact check: Did former prime minister Harold Holt abolish the White Australia policy?". Retrieved 2 November 2020.
- ^ Basosi, Duccio (2011–2012). Looking Forward: Australia's Relations with the People's Republic of China in the Twentieth Century. Università Ca' Foscari. pp. 30–31.
- ^ a b "History". apec.org.
The idea of APEC was firstly publicly broached by former Prime Minister of Australia Bob Hawke during a speech in Seoul, Korea, on 30 January 1969. Ten months later, 12 Asia-Pacific economies met in Canberra, Australia, to establish APEC.
- ^ a b c "Back to Canberra: Founding APEC".
- ^ See Ken Berry, Cambodia From Red to Blue: Australia's Initiative for Peace (Allen & Unwin, 1997)
- ^ Fang, Jason; Weedon, Alan (8 June 2020). "More than 40,000 Chinese were offered asylum in Australia exactly 31 years ago. Here are their stories". www.abc.net.au.
- ^ "US rocket plan became Hawke's first setback". The Sydney Morning Herald. 1 January 2013. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
- ^ Lennon, Troy (18 July 2019). "Australia campaigned for Mandela's freedom". The Daily Telegraph.
- ^ Sheriden, Greg (28 January 2008). "Farewell to Jakarta's Man of Steel". The Australian. Archived from the original on 22 March 2016. Retrieved 30 December 2008.
- ^ "The World Today – 5/10/99: Howard hits back at Keating over criticism". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 5 October 1999. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
- ^ Shenon, Philip (9 December 1993). "Malaysia Premier Demands Apology". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 June 2008.
- ^ 'Indonesia – Australian Relations: East Timor, Bali Bombing, Tsunami and Beyond' by Ambassador Imron Cotan, Kbri-canberra.org.au, archived from the original on 7 January 2010, retrieved 25 April 2010
- ^ Howard accepts Presidential Medal of Freedom, AM program transcript, ABC Radio, Australia: ABC, 14 January 2009, archived from the original on 27 March 2010, retrieved 25 April 2010
- ^ Johnston, Tim (25 November 2007), "Ally of Bush Is Defeated in Australia", The New York Times, p. 8, archived from the original on 28 March 2019, retrieved 6 May 2008
- ^ "Bush lauds Howard as 'man of steel'", The Sydney Morning Herald, 4 May 2003, archived from the original on 7 February 2008, retrieved 6 May 2008
- ^ John Howard's Bali memorial speech – TVNZ Smartphone, tvnz.co.nz, 18 October 2002, archived from the original on 11 May 2011, retrieved 25 April 2010
- ^ "Malaysian PM condemns Iraq war". BBC News. 24 March 2003.
- ^ Riley, Mark (1 April 2003), "Support for the fight growing", Sydney Morning Herald, archived from the original on 25 September 2008, retrieved 22 August 2008
- ^ When it was reported that Iraq did not possess weapons of mass destruction, 70% of Australians believed Howard misled them with most believing he did so unintentionally.
- ^ Riley, Mark (24 September 2003), "Poll: majority of Australians 'feel misled' by Howard", Sydney Morning Herald, archived from the original on 25 September 2008, retrieved 22 August 2008
- ^ Neville Meaney, "The end of ‘white Australia’ and Australia's changing perceptions of Asia, 1945–1990." Australian Journal of International Affairs (1995) 49#2 pp: 171-189.
- ^ "Trends in International Arms Transfer, 2014". www.sipri.org. Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
- ^ Kaushik Kapisthalam, "Australia and Asia's rise." Australian Journal of International Affairs (2006) 60#3 pp: 369-375.
- ^ Navdeep Suri, “Australia-China Relations: The Great Unravelling,” (ORF Issue Brief No. 366, June 2020) online
- ISBN 978-1743794807.
- ^ Mike Cherney, "Australia Cancels China Infrastructure Deal, Citing National Interest: Decision deepens diplomatic dispute; Beijing says Australian government has no sincerity to improve ties" Wall Street Journal
- ^ Clinton Fernandes, Reluctant saviour: Australia, Indonesia, and the independence of East Timor (Scribe Publications, 2004).
- ^ James Cotton, East Timor, Australia and regional order: intervention and its aftermath in Southeast Asia (Routledge, 2004)
- ^ Gareth J. Evans, and Bruce Grant, Australia's foreign relations: in the world of the 1990s (Melbourne University Press, 1991)
- ^ Katrina Stats, "Welcome to Australia? A reappraisal of the Fraser government's approach to refugees, 1975–83." Australian Journal of International Affairs (2015) 69#1 pp: 69-87.
- ISBN 9781139505635.
Further reading
- Australian War Memorial. Encyclopedia online with scores of topics
- Bell, Coral. Dependent ally: a study in Australian foreign policy (1988), on ties to US and UK; online
- Bolton, Geoffrey. The Oxford History of Australia: Volume 5: 1942-1995. The Middle Way (2005) online
- Bridge, Carl ed., Munich to Vietnam: Australia's Relations with Britain and the United States since the 1930s, (Melbourne University Press 1991).
- Chieocharnpraphan, Thosaphon. Australian Foreign Policy under the Howard Government: Australia as a Middle Power? (2011)
- Clark, Claire, Australian foreign policy: towards a reassessment (1973) online
- Davison, Graeme, John Hirst, and Stuart Macintyre, eds. The Oxford Companion to Australian History (2001) online at many academic libraries; also excerpt and text search
- Dennis, Peter, Jeffrey Grey, Ewan Morris, and Robin Prior. The Oxford Companion to Australian Military History. 1996)
- Edwards, P. G. Prime ministers and diplomats: the making of Australian foreign policy, 1901-1949 (1983) online
- Firth, Stewart. Australia in International Politics: An Introduction to Australian Foreign Policy (2005)
- Grant, Ian. A Dictionary of Australian Military History - from Colonial Times to the Gulf War (1992)
- Gyngell; Allan, and Michael Wesley. Making Australian Foreign Policy (Cambridge University Press, 2003)
- Lee, David. Search for Security: The Political Economy of Australia's Postwar Foreign and Defence Policy (1995)
- Lowe, David. Menzies and the 'Great World Struggle': Australia's Cold War 1948-54 (1999)
- Macintyre, Stuart. The Oxford History of Australia: Volume 4: 1901-42, the Succeeding Age (1993) online
- McLean, David. "From British Colony to American Satellite? Australia and the USA during the Cold War," Australian Journal of Politics & History (2006) 52 (1), 64–79. Rejects satellite model. online at Blackwell-Synergy
- McLean, David. "Australia in the Cold War: a Historiographical Review." International History Review (2001) 23(2): 299–321. ISSN 0707-5332
- Millar, T. B. Australia in peace and war : external relations 1788-1977 (1978) online, 612pp
- Murphy, John. Harvest of Fear: A History of Australia's Vietnam War (1993)
- Schreuder, Deryck, and Stuart Ward, eds. Australia's Empire (Oxford History of the British Empire Companion Series) (2008) excerpt and text search
- Serle. Percival, ed. Dictionary of Australian Biography (1949) online edition
- Suri, Navdeep. "Australia-China Relations: The Great Unravelling," (ORF Issue Brief No. 366, June 2020, , Observer Research Foundation.) online
- Watt, Alan. The Evolution of Australian Foreign Policy 1938–1965, (Cambridge UP, 1967) online
Primary sources
- Cotton, James, ed. Documents on Australian Foreign Policy: Australia and the World 1920-1930 (Canberra, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, 2019), 960 pp.
- Neale, R.G. Ed. Documents on Australian foreign policy, 1937-49: vol 1 1937-38 (1975) online
See also
- Basic Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation
- Canberra Pact
- Colombo Plan
- Pacific class patrol boat
- Petrov Affair