By Peter Dawson
"When media refer to Tony Abbott and ‘other
world leaders’ in the context of the events in Ukraine and the Middle East,
Australian breasts may swell with pride but could we be fooling ourselves. One
of Abbott’s better slogans has been ‘more Jakarta and less Geneva’ but we are
now committing resources to these faraway conflicts which, according to some of
our best informed commentators, we should approach with caution. Importantly we
divert intellectual and policy effort from our own region to these highly complex
conflicts which we struggle to understand.
"Australia has significant expertise in regard to the countries of the
East Asian region and especially in regard to South East Asia. These countries
are also self-evidently of the most immediate strategic importance to us. The
emerging tensions in the region need no emphasis but it will be critically
important that we read them correctly and respond appropriately. The real ‘elephant in the room’ is the
aforesaid ‘Jakarta’. Here we have a new
administration under a President who has no experience of or with
Australia. He also has no foreign policy
background so will, presumably, rely on advice. His panel of transition
advisors is mixed but not particularly reassuring from an Australian viewpoint.
How are we handling the development of this relationship which in every sense
is far more important than those with either the Ukraine or Iraq?"
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