“Ocean of Vast Goodwill” Seems to be Draining Out Fast
As the Quad is regrouping against China’s increasing hostility in South Asia, international relations in the region are very sketchy.
The relationship between Australia and China has been a unique one, from years of tension going way back to the Chinese Civil War and establishment of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, which Australia officially recognised in 1972, to a successful trade partnership.
Despite the differences, the relationship has grown considerably over the years, with both countries actively engaging economically, culturally and politically through numerous accords like Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (AEPC), East Asia Summit and the G20. China is, in fact, Australia’s largest trading partner, and has heavily invested in the mining sector of Australia.
Cracks in Austro-Sino bilateral relations
But the bilateral relationship took a turn for the worse in 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic, originating from Wuhan, China, strengthened its grip over the world and effectively crushed all the nations. The situation worsened further in April 2020 when Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison joined a group of countries seeking an international investigation into the causes of the coronavirus epidemic and the early Chinese response in confining the outbreak.
China did not take this Australian participation in the probe lightly and certainly not in any positive aspect. Chinese officials put out strong-worded statements, calling Australian authorities “highly irresponsible” and accusing them of “disrupting international cooperation in fighting the pandemic”.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian recently remarked in a press conference that Australia must be held responsible for “a series of misconduct related to China, which is the main reason for the sharp decline in relations between China and Australia bilateral relations”.
The cracks can be seen widening in real-time as the tariff game between the two countries is becoming apparent. Most recently, China has begun imposing harsh trade tariffs on Australia, along with targeting Australian journalists and issuing angry memorandums in efforts to thwart the Australian strategy of cooperation with the west in checking and balancing Chinese authority in the region.
Zhao had even more strong words after the Five Eyes alliance — of which Australia is a member — criticized Beijing’s recent expulsion of several Hong Kong lawmakers. “No matter how many eyes they have, five or 10 or whatever, should anyone dare to undermine China’s sovereignty, security and development interests, they should be careful not to get their eyes poked out,” Zhao said (source- CNN).
In September, Australian authorities reluctantly evacuated two journalists (source: CNN) from China following an aggressive inquiry by the Chinese regarding a national security case involving an Australian journalist working for the Chinese state media.
The two countries are engaging in abject activities like limiting foreign investment, erecting visa barriers, and restricting the work of foreign journalists and diplomats, driving the prospects of a peaceful resolve further and further away.
In an interview with the media, Australian Trade Minister Simon Birmingham said the “ball is very much in China’s court” to resolve trade tensions, adding that he hoped the signing of the recently signed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) (source: CNN) agreement could help resolve the dispute between the two governments.
The RCEP is a huge trade agreement that brings together 14 countries in the Asia Pacific, including China and Australia, in a massive free trade deal, making the region one of the largest cooperative trade zones in the world.
Just six years ago, Chinese President Xi Jinping hailed a “vast ocean of goodwill between China and Australia”.
This has soured since, however, as Beijing increasingly flexed its muscles- pressuring the smaller nation diplomatically and economically, and allegedly interfering in Australian politics.
Australian foreign policy and national security experts say that over the years, China has mistaken Australia’s policy of mutual benefit of economic engagement for a less powerful stance that can be bullied around. The resultant Chinese aggression and use of military, IT & technological strategies, and economic power against the interests of Australia are a deterrent to democratic values not for Australia but internationally as well.
The whole world has become disillusioned with China with legitimate concerns about its role in telecom manufacturing through Huawei in the 5G network and privacy issues, and the coronavirus pandemic originating from China has further pushed for this disillusionment.
While the relations are on a serious downturn, some political experts in Australia believe that the disputes between the two countries could be resolved amicably. They say that the Australian government seems to have a major leaning towards the USA and its allies, and the current Australian government thinks it is imperative to get close to Washington. And to get close to the US, the government is strongly indulging in taking one of the strongest anti-China stances globally.
This policy of rallying behind the US and going anti-China, in turn, has resulted in Australia taking the lead on issues such as 5G and the coronavirus investigation- even ahead of the US itself, such as when Australia banned Huawei ahead of a similar move by the US and the European Union.
As Australia’s ties with Beijing have frayed, the two countries have entered a spiral of worsening relations.
The further away Australia goes from China, the closer Australia is moving to other regional powers- particularly India and Japan, while simultaneously doubling down on its relationship with the US, in part through the increasing militarization of the Quad, an alliance between all four countries.
All this has angered the bigger fish that is China too much. But bullying fellow nations in the region achieves the opposite of acquiescence and subservience (just ask the US!). And coercion of Australia using trade as a weapon will only collapse the “hard-won soft power gains” China had made in the region and internationally over the past two decades.
In particular, China’s aggressive trade policy could backfire as high levels of trade will decline if China continues to use trade as a weapon. And while Chinese officials have complained about the US’ attempts to disengage the Chinese-Australian bilateral trade accords, the Chinese themselves are doing the work of separation and weakening their position in the region.
What do you think the future of Chinese-Australian bilateral relations will be like? Tell us below in the comments.
Views are the writer’s own and do not necessarily represent the viewpoint of Volunteers Collective.
Written by Aakash Sharma. He is a member and the editor at Volunteers Collective. Aakash is a student of English Literature from the University of Delhi who writes with a focus on global politics, socio-economic issues and literary-cultural phenomenons.
