Australia's national interests would be better served by pursuing a Essay

Australia's national interests would be better served by pursuing a foreign policy that is more independent of the United S - Essay Example For instance, Australia’s primary national interest was to gain strategic dominance in the region to fight against all possible external threats. Initially it was among the colonies of UK in the pre World War II era and therefore it had to face substantial political threats soon after the independence. Hence forming ANZUS alliance with USA was the foremost step in order to safeguard the national interests of the country (McLean, 2006). However, after the US declaration of war on terror the overall nature of ANZUS was dramatically changed and Australia’s national interests began to get negatively affected by the intervention of US. Now researchers are critically analyzing the core objectives of ANZUS alliance and the current political scenario. It would be now significantly better for the Australian government to execute an independent foreign policy so as to protect its national goals and objectives. Moreover such independence will facilitate the Australian government t o save itself from the international wars and politics. But the consequences and reaction of US government in such a situation cannot be underestimated (Umetsu, 2006). This paper aims to critically evaluate the relationship between Australia and USA in terms of Australia’s national interests and foreign policy. Moreover, it will discuss the key interest behind ANZUS alliance since 1950s, the core reasons behind Australia’s participation in wars against Afghanistan and Iraq including its moral and legal justifications. This shall be followed by Australia’s relationships with Asia and Middle East subsequently leading to the end of discussion i.e. either independent foreign policy is suitable for Australia or not. Since the very beginning Australia has depended upon the British and American powers in order to gain strategic benefits and also to fulfill its national interests. When British were ruling the world Australians were under their strong influence. However, when America came into power it also took control over the foreign policies and strategic matters of Australia. This ultimately resulted in ANZUS alliance which was formed in 1950 (McLean, 2006). Historical records reveal that Australia was never able to practice complete authority over its national matters due to the mental dependency and also because of the massive influence of American power. Critics such as Alan Ramsey argue that Australian government officials have proved to be more sincere to US rather than to their own nation. Hence it can be said that Australia actually transformed into an American colony after gaining independence from Britain (McLean, 2006). Australia had some key interests in forming and maintaining ANZUS alliance. For instance, in the post-World War II era Australia needed to have strong foreign relationships in order to meet any threat to its national interests. Furthermore, the significantly strong economic position of USA played a vital role in drivi ng and uplifting the Australian economy, while on the other hand Australia was specifically interested in gaining domestic political benefits from US interventions (Beeson, 2003). If we closely analyze the address of Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s to the Congress representatives in the US then we can easily anticipate that Australia is not only