Dr Brendan Taylor
Lecturer, Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, ANU
- Proposing an Asia Pacific community is one way in which the Rudd government is responding to the Australian public’s expectations of its competence in Asia policy.
- In fact, it is doubtful whether regional institutions and new initiatives in building institutions actually lead to a softening of international tension. Regional institutions often merely provide opportunities for competition between powers.
- Another problem in developing regional architecture is deciding precisely how to define the region itself. The task is highly political. The Chinese, United States, Japanese, Indonesia, Singaporean and other governments all bring specific national interests to bear in the way they seek to define the region between great powers.
- There is a potential for Indonesia’s regional influence to grow strongly perhaps at the expense of ASEAN influence.