Seniour defense and foreign officials from the United States (USA) and Australia on July 28, 2023 at the “33rd Australia-USA Ministerial Consultations (AUSMIN)”. The sides agreed to further cooperate with Indıa, Japan, Indınesia, the Philippines and South Korea to ensure the security and the stability of the region. During the meeting, the two countries decided to increase their cooperation with the Asia-Pasific countries through a series of exercises. In addition, in the statement, they welcomed Fiji, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Tonga for the firsttime in the “TALISMAN SABER 2023” exercise held in the US and Australian registers; as well as India, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines sending observers[1].
Other matters that were agreed within the scope of AUSMIN are; reaffirming the commitment to transparency, maritime security and increasing maritime space, cooperating to put a stop to illegal fishing, accelerating consistency of the alliance and more regular visits by American submarines to Australia. The two countries also agreed to maintain a global order, based on international law; including the fundamental principles of sovereignty and territorial structure. According to the statement, a set of keys is targeted to guide multiple pairs, partnerships, triple and multilateral securirty arrangements.[2]
Concerns frequently emphasized by Western actors regarding the Asia-Pacific are as follows; increased military actions in the South and East China Sea, security problems in and around the Taiwan Strait and destabilizing or coercive unilateral actions that undermine regional peace and stabilityin general. Australia and the United States have called for the peaceful resolution of regional issues through dialogue without the threat or use of force or coercion. In addition, the two countries have stated that they support Taiwan’s participation in international organizations, noting that Taiwan is a leading democracy[3]. In order to prevent a possible conflict in this regard, attention was drawn to the establishment of reliable and healthy communication channels with China. Western powers emphasize the importance of establishing constructive relations with Beijing, increasing transparency and cooperating with China in the areas of common interest.
The United States and its military allies are trying to balance and constain China by establishing mechanisms at different levels, including bipartite, tripartite or quadruple groupings in the Asia-Pasific. In this balancing act, countries like India, Indonesia, France, New Zealand and Singapore mostly prefer non-military mechanisms. These countries focus heavily on balancing China and Seek technical support from the United States to strengthen their military capabilities.
The concept that Western powers often focus on is “Free and Open Indo-Pasific”. This concept, coined by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2016, has since been endorsed as a constructive proposition by the US and all of its allies. Those who gave the strongest support to this statement stand out as India and France. Previously, Australia was also a strong supporter of this concept. However, due to the AUKUS Agreement signed with the USA and the UK, Canberra has shown that it is more in favor of regional polarization and defense alliances. The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD), which was launched in 2017, is also mainly based on the principle of “Free and Open Indo-Pasific”. This dialogue, consisting of the USA, Australia, Japan and India, has gradually moved away from its purpose over the past 6 years. New Delhi plays a calming role in this formation şn Washington and Tokyo. Western actors led by the US have accelerated all India’s efforts towards security alliances that will provoke China.
It is seen that Indıa attaches great importance to the understanding of peaceful security and strongly opposes the bloc politics in the bilateral, tripartite and quartet meetings; which often continue in the form of “security dialogues”. In this context, it can be said that New Delhi is trying to take Tokyo away from Washington’s “dangerous steps” by taking Tokyo to its side. This means that, Japan itself is moving away from the “free and open” regional security principle and towards a policy of bloc with the USA. In Japan, there are serious criticisms of the Fumio Kishida administration for moving away from the concept of “free and open”, which is the legacy of Shinzo Abe, and moving to a more proactive defense concept. China criticizes Japan for its bloc policy[4]. Some of the “multilateral” security dialogues interpreted as “forming of blocs” in Asia-Pasific are as follows[5]:
● Japan-South Korea-USA
● Japan-India-Italy
● Japan-England-Australia
● Japan-Australia-USA
● Japan-India-USA
● Japan-Australia-India
● Australia-Indonesia-India
● Australia-India-France
Based on the above triple mechanisms, it is seen that Japan is trying to develop a muıltidimentional cooperation network due to security concerns originating from China and North Korea. India, on the other hand, thinks differently from other Western allies regarding the mechanisms to deal with China. New Delhi desires a more “inclusive” regional security architrcture rather than Washington’s “against Beijing” rhetoric. Because India is largely reluctant to confront China militarily. Due to the lack of a consistent security mechanism in the Asia-Pasific, the countries of tthe region desire to benefit from the experiences of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the defence alliance of the West. It is thought that NATO can contribute to establishing a rule-based order in the Asia Pasific. In this contect; Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand participated for the seconf consecutive year at NATO’s annual meeting held in Vilnius, Lithuania, on July 11-12 2023. Apart from its intention to open a contact office in Tokyo, Nato is said to be planning to establish an “Individually Tailored Partnership Program (ITPP)” with all four countries. With Nato’s increasing interest in the region, it would not be surprising if the number of alliances in the Asia-Pasific increased.
[1] “Joint Statement on Australia-U.S. Ministerial Consultations (AUSMIN) 2023”, US Department of Defense, https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/3476104/joint-statement-on-australia-us-ministerial-consultations-ausmin-2023/, (Date of Accession: 01.08.2023
[2]“ US, Australia To Cooperate With India To Ensure Security And Stability Of Indo-Pacific”, Economic Times, https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/us-australia-to-cooperate-with-india-to-ensure-security-and-stability-of-indo-pacific/articleshow/102231936.cms?from=mdr, (Date of Accession: 01.08.2023).
[3] “Joint Statement on Australia-U.S. Ministerial Consultations (AUSMIN) 2023”, a.g.e., (Date of Accesion: 01.08.2023).
[4] “China Hits Out At Japan’s ‘Erroneous’ Defence White Paper”, SCMP, https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3229365/china-hits-out-japans-erroneous-defence-white-paper, (Date of Accession: 01.08.2023).
[5] “INDIA AND THE QUAD”, IISS, https://www.iiss.org/publications/strategic-dossiers/asia-pacific-regional-security-assessment-2022/aprsa-chapter-9, (Date of Accession: 01.08.2023).
