The increasing commercial links between the mainland and Australia had created unprecedented demand for graduates with Asian language skills, he said.

But educators bemoan the fact that Australia is not giving enough support to the teaching of Asian languages - even if students wanted to learn Chinese, the opportunities were insufficient.

Only 16 of Australia's 40 universities offer Chinese language courses and only 18 provide classes in Indonesian.

The Asian Studies Association of Australia says that fewer than 6,000 university students - out of nearly one million - studied Chinese last year. Nearly half were from Asia and many were expected to take their multilingual skills home.

The outlook for Indonesian is worse - only 1,800 university students last year, down 15 per cent since 2001. Enrolments in Japanese fell by 5 per cent in the same period yet Japan is Australia's second largest trading partner.

Academics point to a federal government decision three years ago to cancel A$30 million ($173 million) a year in funding for a national Asian languages strategy. The message the government appeared to be delivering was that Asian studies and languages were not important.

The Asian Studies Association says that Australia's capacity to understand and talk to its regional neighbours 'is stalled at an undesirably low level'.

'The study of Asia justifies special concern because interaction with Asia is an inevitable and natural part of the life experience of growing numbers of Australians,' the association said.

More than half of Australia's trade was with Asia and yet long-term investment in the region was weak, it said. Australia's security depended on relations with the peoples of Asia and one in every 20 Australians came from Asia.

In a series of recommendations, the association calls for funding to create 10 chairs of Asian languages 'to signal that the national interest demands Australians fluent in the languages of the region'.

In addition, an 'Australian Fulbright' scheme for Asia should be created which would build links with people who make policy and influence opinion in Asia.

Professor Robin Jeffrey, association past president and a professor of politics at La Trobe University, said the government needed to urgently address the lack of opportunities for university students to learn Asian languages.

Equipping graduates with language skills could only add to Australia's capacity to deal productively and sensibly with its Asian neighbours, Professor Jeffrey said.

'The failure of Australian language policy is that we haven't bitten the bullet and been prepared to set up a standing national programme delivered from a single centre in these languages of lesser demand,' he said.

'We can't avoid the region we live in. We are going to interact more with the nearest region than with other parts of the world and paradoxically it's the region that [we] know least about.'

But efforts are being made to provide for people interested in doing business with the mainland.

At Monash University's National Centre for Language Training in Melbourne one course covers issues such as cultural awareness, etiquette and business language.

It also runs short-term, intensive Chinese language programmes in Shanghai and Beijing through its Chinese in-country programme.