Australia looks for balance to China’s rising power in Indo-Pacific region

Australia is seeking to work more closely with the major democracies in the Indo-Pacific as it calls for a greater US role to provide a balance to China’s increasing power in the region.

The country’s Foreign Policy White Paper, published on Thursday, reiterated the country’s support for the United States as it warned that the security network that it had relied upon in the past was under increasing strain given the shifting power dynamics.

“To support a balance in the Indo-Pacific favourable to our interests and promote an open, inclusive and rules-based region, Australia will also work more closely with the region’s major democracies, bilaterally and in small groupings,” it said, adding Australia will enhance coordination with Japan, Indonesia, India and South Korea.

“Our alliance with the United States is central to Australia’s approach to the Indo – Pacific,” it said, “Today, China is challenging America’s position.”

The White Paper, unveiled by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, is the third one in Australia’s history.