Australian Foreign and Defense Policy in the Wake of the 1999/2000 East Timor Intervention

摘要

An enduring challenge that Australia has confronted since attainment of state- hood in 1901 is how to reconcile its Western origins with its Asian geography in creating a viable security identity. During the Cold War, this issue was generally framed in the context of the wider geopolitical standoff that was taking place between the United States and Soviet Union. However, in the more fluid international political environment since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, it is the notion of comprehensive engagement that has largely been used to define and specify Australia's role in this part of the world. This orientation does not connote the idea of 'belonging' to Southeast Asia; rather, it expresses a desire to forge a diverse and substantive array of linkages with the countries of the region in a spirit of partnership and mutual respect. Indonesia has been critical to the success of comprehensive engagement. The Republic is not only Australia's largest and most important regional neighbor, its preeminent position in organizations such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) ensures that the country will have a key voice in endorsing (or rejecting) Canberra's wider regional engagement efforts. To this end, intensive efforts have been made to establish and cement comprehensive aid, investment, security, and political ties with Jakarta.