But experts say the developing partnership is more driven by economics and deals to boost tourism and technical exchanges than it is military links. While in November, they conducted their first joint sea and air patrols – and did so in the South China Sea – analysts point out Australia still has no direct security commitment to the Philippines if a crisis were to break out in the disputed waterway.
The United States, meanwhile, has a mutual defense treaty with the Philippines in a relationship that dates back to the aftermath of World War Two.
Why is Australia holding back?
Although Australia is one of ASEAN’s most highly valued partners, it would not want to be seen as “too forward leaning” in supporting regional militaries while it was still mending its relationship with China, said Susannah Patton, director of the Southeast Asia Program at the Lowy Institute.
“Australia is not a small player, but it’s also not a decisive influence,” Patton said of Canberra’s role in Southeast Asia, adding that it would be cautious about being dragged into any maritime security flashpoints.
Other experts say that while Australia is not as vocal as the US in calling out China’s aggressions, Canberra is still hedging against Beijing’s growing military presence in the region by actively fortifying its regional security alliances.
Australia’s foremost military priority remains with the Quad, which also includes the United States, Japan, and India – a grouping whose mantra is a “free and open Indo-Pacific,” and which Beijing views as an “exclusionary bloc” that undermines China’s interests.
Under another pact, AUKUS, the US and the UK have agreed to help Australia build and maintain nuclear-powered submarines by the early 2040s, in another alliance that has angered Beijing. China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Wang Wenbin said the trilateral pact would “only exacerbate the arms race, undermine the international nuclear non-proliferation regime and hurt regional peace and stability.”
Given it is already part of two security pacts that have raised Beijing’s hackles, Australia might decide it’s wise not to further anger its trading partner by siding too heavily with the Philippines in the South China Sea, some experts say.
Nick Bisley, dean and professor at La Trobe University in Melbourne, said the Australian view of foreign policy remained “overly anxious about China” and that was why Canberra was so particular in the wording of any of its military commitments in contested zones.
As Bisley put it, “We don’t like what China does, but we’re not going to put ourselves in harm’s way.”
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