The Japan-Australia security declaration and the changing regional security setting: wheels, webs and beyond?

• Published in: Australian journal of international affairs Vol. 62; no. 1; pp. 38 - 52
• Main Author: Bisley, Nick
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Canberra Taylor & Francis Group 01.03.2008; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Aid coordination; Australia; Australia: Defences; Australia: Foreign relations; Balance of power; Bilateral relations; China: Foreign relations; Diplomacy; Diplomatic relations; DIPLOMATS; FOREIGN POLICY; Humanitarian intervention; International agreements; International Cooperation; International relations; Japan; Japan: Defences; Japan: Foreign relations; National security; Political alliances; POLLUTION; Prevention; Regional Security; Security Policy; Strategic behaviour; TERRORISM; Terrorism (International law); Treaties; United States: Foreign relations; AUSTRALIA; JAPAN; Australia; Japan
• ISSN: 1035-7718; 1465-332X
• DOI: 10.1080/10357710701842678

The March 2007 Japan-Australia Security Declaration has garnered more than its share of hyperbole. Described variously as an historic milestone for peace or an agreement designed to encircle China; the declaration's actual strategic consequences are somewhat unclear. The purpose of this article is to provide a critical analysis of the security declaration and to assess its impact in the context of the changing patterns of the region's security setting. Some have argued that it marks a small but qualitatively significant shift in the essential features of the regional security architecture. The article assesses this claim and argues that while the declaration is of some diplomatic importance, and clearly contributes to improving cooperation in disaster relief and other humanitarian operations, it is of little strategic significance to the broader patterns of East Asian security over the short to medium term. Each side's operational constraints, their different strategic priorities, most obviously their perceptions of China, as well as the continued military predominance of the US, means that the agreement will be of little immediate significance for East Asian security. That said, it remains an important development for the respective parties and is a leading edge indicator of broader forces for change that are increasingly present in East Asia.