Australia’s Response to China in the Pacific: From Alert to Alarmed

Abstract

This viewpoint is based on the combination of two main factors: Australia’s concerns about China and Australia’s understandings of the vulnerabilities of the Pacific. Australia increasingly sees China as a strategic threat at global, regional and national levels, while at the same time it is closely tied to the Chinese economy. Concomitantly, Australia functions on a deeply held assumption that Pacific Island countries (PICs) are in no position to resist China as its presence grows. This chapter will examine the multifaceted aspects of Australia’s strong and growing concern about China, including views that China is a revisionist country determined to rewrite the rules of the global order and apprehension about the impact of a rising China on Australia’s national interests.