Talk of America’s “pivot” toward Asia echoes around graduate school classrooms and foreign ministry corridors. The Obama administration believes the United States has overinvested in the Middle East and underinvested in the Asia-Pacific, where the bulk of its future opportunities and challenges lie. So now America is rebalancing its investment portfolio.
A defense white paper from America’s most reliable ally in the region, Australia, should therefore be closely read in Washington. The message from the Australian Government’s 2013 Defense White Paper is that if the United States is rebalancing, then so is Australia.
This white paper is very cautious in its characterization of China’s rise. Beijing was extremely unhappy that Australia’s previous defense white paper, in 2009, dwelled on the threat of rising powers in the region. The latest version, by contrast, describes China’s military modernization and growing defense capabilities as “natural” and “legitimate” outcomes of China’s economic growth. It states that Australia “does not approach China as an adversary.”