AUSTRALIA: No ASIAN alliance aimed at China
Updated
Australia is denying any ambition to create a four-way alliance linking India with the United States, Japan and Australia. Australian ministers say Canberra wants to build bilateral security relations with India, but does not want to bring India into the existing trilateral security structure with the US and Japan. China is becoming increasingly vocal about what it sees as a so-called "alliance of democracies" by the four countries, aimed at containing China.
Presenter: Graeme Dobell, Radio Australia's Foreign Affairs a
Speakers: Australia's Foreign Minister, Alexander Downer; President of China's Institute of International Studies, Ambassador Ma Zhengang; Australia's Defence Minister, Brendan Nelson
DOBELL: China is unsettled enough by the new trilateral security dialogue, linking Australia, Japan and the United States. But Beijing is get positively agitated by the idea that it could be transformed from three to four, with India joining up. When visiting China in April, Australia's Foreign Minister, Alexander Downer, denied any ambition for an Asian version of the NATO alliance.
DOWNER: There isn't any vision here of building some sort of security arrangement, I don't think that's what's been talked about, but whether there can be some sort of relationship or some sort of a meeting from time to time, well that's a work in progress. I don't think India for example as one of the joint founders of the Non-Aligned Movement with Indonesia, would see itself as becoming part of some kind of Asian NATO, and I don't think there is any vision here of establishing a kind of Asian NATO.
DOBELL: The other members of the trilateral security dialogue are keener, and it's starting to happen. At the end of May, officials from Australia, Japan, the US and India met for their first exploratory talks. The meeting took place on the sidelines of a senior officials meeting of the Asia Pacific security dialogue, the ASEAN Regional Forum, taking place in Manila.
Ahead of that first four-nation discussion, China served a diplomatic demarche on the four countries - asking the purpose of the meeting.
China says the US is seeking to create a so-called alliance of democracies in Asia, to contain China. The President of China's Institute of International Studies, Ambassador Ma Zhengang, says the US attempt to build an an alliance of democracies is divisive and dangerous.
AMBASSADOR MA: Who decides? The United States decides that you are democratic and you are not. So this is I think a deliberate division for the country for the first point; second, I know that some countries like the United States try to pull Japan, Australia or India or some country, it wants to form a kind of alliance. I think in that case what about China? What about the rest of the countries? Do you think there should be opposition from each other? Would that be beneficial to the building of real peace and security in this area? So I suggest that this idea I personally think is dangerous.
DOBELL: Australia's Foreign Affairs Department says the meeting of officials from Australia, Japan, the United States and India was quote, "motivated by the natural partnership between countries sharing fundamental values and growing cooperation".
Further, according to Canberra, it was not driven by security considerations.... nor by considerations of other countries, and quote "there is no intention to enter into a quadrilateral security alliance."
Australia's Defence Minister, Brendan Nelson, repeats the line that discussions with India are not aimed at creation a four-way alliance. And Dr Nelson says he'll offer that assurance to China when he visits Beijing next month.
NELSON: What we've got is a trilateral dialogue. We have an alliance with the United States, Japan has an alliance with the United States. Japan and Australia are not only major trading partners, we're also people that have fundamental commitments, certainly since the end of World War Two to basic democratic principles. So we have agreed to a trilateral dialogue with Japan and of course the United States. What's been proposed and which we're happy to do is to essentially have discussions about other issues which may involve at an officials level India for example. But we're not proposing to nor encouraging the notion of some sort of quadrilateral dialogue, and if people are presenting it in those terms they shouldn't. And the other thing of course when I do go to Beijing I will be emphasising again that our trilateral dialogue with the United States and Japan is basically about the common interest that we have not only in defence and security but a whole range of trade, economic and other issues. It's not solely some sort of defence and security thing and should not be seen in any way as undermining the very good relationship that we enjoy with China, which we have, we place very high regard and emphasis upon.
DOBELL: China is jumping at ghosts a little, worrying about the creation of a new alliance of democracies which would bring India in as well?
NELSON: Well I'm certainly not going to agree to keep to some particular concern to China about what Australia might otherwise be doing. We have very strong bilateral relations with many of the countries within our region. Australia also supports and participates in multilateral dialogue throughout the region, and we also have for example devolving trilateral dialogue with Japan and the United States. But I don't think that China is reading into it the things that are imputed to it. But they're things that I will discuss with my Chinese counterparts, I know Minister Downer will do precisely the same.
