ANZUS and the rise of China

This debate chapter argues that the US alliance remains central to Australia across numerous issue areas, including regional security, defence procurement and trade. Canberra and Washington also maintain important bilateral, regional and multilateral cooperative linkages in a large number of regional and global institutions. Interdependencies and shared interests form the crux of the US-Australia alliance. This chapter further asserts that, beyond trade interdependence, Canberra and Beijing have few interests in common and, indeed, Chinese foreign policy in practice is frequently diametrically opposed to Australian regional and global interests, as it partners and protects regimes that threaten regional stability, while its military modernisation may bring Beijing into direct conflict with Washington.