While there is no substitute for the US alliance, the visit by Britain’s foreign and defence secretaries, David Lammy and John Healey, for consultations with their Australian counterparts in Sydney today is a timely reminder that Australia has strategic partners beyond Washington. However, the muted handling of this visit, which was not announced until the last possible minute, hints at handwringing in Canberra about partnering too conspicuously with Europeans, especially former colonial powers like Britain. Canberra’s concerns apparently arise in part from Foreign Minister Penny Wong’s goal of anchoring Australia’s security in, not from, Asia. This formulation, coined by former prime minister Paul Keating, was the crux of Wong’s speech at a Malaysian think tank earlier this month. Australia’s partnership with Britain, which extends well beyond defence interests, could seem a tough brand to sell to Southeast Asians, as some of Wong’s regional counterparts may be telling her.
Australian discomfort about partnering with Britain is misplaced | The Strategist
