Australia at the Axis of the Pacific Security Chessboard

Fatima Zuhra

When global security has shifted its focus towards the Asia Pacific, Australia has come into the spotlight. A country that is isolated from the world through a vast ocean, having a huge distance from its adversaries, was previously considered to have no major security issues. However, in early 2025, Chinese military exercises in the Tasman Sea increased a sense of urgency in the Australian government, as their naval ships were just 340 nautical miles from the East of Australia, the New South Wales Coast. This has made Australia rethink its security policy.

Australia’s strategic tilt toward the United States underscores a new era of military assertiveness in the Pacific.

Australia has always been central to the Pacific Geopolitics, being one of the largest countries, in fact, a separate continent itself. It always lies at the pivotal point of the China-United States Pacific rivalry. It has always tried to balance its relations with both states. On one side, it has the deepest trade relations with China, as China is its largest trading partner. On the other hand, it is one of the strongest military allies of the United States, and it is part of multiple defense alliances such as Five Eyes, ANZUS, AUSMIN, and AUKUS. This shows the deep defense relationship between the United States and Australia.

In the Past, Australia has tried to balance its relations with both China and the United States. But it has shifted its parity towards the United States during 2020, when Australia called for an international investigation into the origin of COVID-19, and China imposed trade restrictions on various Australian imports from April 2020 to May 2024. This makes Australia take a hardliner stance towards China, making it tilt towards the United States and become one of its strongest allies in the Pacific. Australia is now bandwagoning for the United States by acting as a deterrent against China for its increasing influence in the Pacific region.

Australia is working to increase its military presence in the Pacific region so that it can secure the region. In 2021, Australia became part of a trilateral partnership with the United States and the United Kingdom in the form of AUKUS, a security arrangement that allows Australia to acquire nuclear submarines and other military capabilities to counter China. AUKUS, worth about $368 billion for over 30 years, under which Australia will buy nuclear submarines from the U.S., and new submarines will be designed and developed for Australia based on the developed technologies from all three countries of AUKUS.

The AUKUS partnership redefines Australia’s defense posture, integrating nuclear capabilities to counter regional power shifts.

Further, these three states will work on the development of advanced military technologies. In the last month, a new agreement has been signed under AUKUS, which focuses on the development of nuclear submarines for Australia, allowing the AUKUS states to increase the transfer of information and equipment for nuclear-powered submarines. Highlights the United States’ Indo-Pacific strategy of positioning Australia as a middle power in the Pacific region to counter Chinese expansion.

In addition to this, Australia has signed the PukPuk Treaty with Papua New Guinea, under which Australia will recruit 10,000 Papua New Guinea citizens into the Australian Defense Force under a dual arrangement; they will do joint military exercises and training, marking a significant increase in the Australian footprint in the Security Paradigm of the Pacific region.

Furthermore, in August, Australia signed one of the largest military deals of about $6.5 billion warship deal with Japan, expressing the Australian rising military build-up and the hardliner stance against Chinese military presence in the Pacific region.

These amplifying military footprints could further intensify the regional security dynamics and could enhance an arms race in the region. However, in the near future, there is no chance of any military confrontation, as beyond security issues, both states have close economic relations, which keep their relations in balance.

Despite rising tensions, economic interdependence remains a stabilizing factor between major Pacific powers.

So, Australia should focus on enhancing its economic ties with China to enhance economic dependency, and in case of escalation, it could bring China to the diplomatic table to solve the problems through diplomacy. Because Wars can never bring prosperity, they can only bring mutual destruction, which cannot solve the problems, but diplomacy can.

Fatima Zuhra is a recent graduate in International Relations. Her research interests include peacebuilding, climate change, diplomacy, and South Asian politics. She focuses on the intersection of global affairs and sustainable development, with particular attention to how regional dynamics shape international security and cooperation.