Assessing Australia's Southeast Asian Strategy

Australia is fundamentally altering its foreign and defence policies towards Southeast Asia, so as to ameliorate its diplomatic position and overall security posture in the region. These efforts, while perhaps ignored outside the immediate region, constitute a significant reorientation in Australia's external affairs. In addition to acknowledging that Canberra must be prepared to defend itself without allied assistance, this diplomatic initiative and new national strategy underscore the inherent limitations Australia faces to act unilaterally in Southeast Asia. This article argues that this is a sound policy. Notwithstanding the maintenance of certain Cold War allied operational arrangements, the Australian Defence Force is undergoing a significant reorientation, although structural limitations could prevent it from conducting sustained operations in the north. None the less, what needs to be understood is that this new northward focus is tempered by the reality that, given the growing sophistication in regional defence capabilities, it is extremely unlikely that Australia would engage in independent combat operations, outside national defence.