Ever since World War II, when Australians fought in close coordination with American troops, the continent-sized nation has played a critical role as a strategic partner for the United States in the Asia-Pacific region from Korea to Vietnam, and then beyond, to Afghanistan and Iraq.
When it comes to handling the deep-pocketed, assertive, and increasingly belligerent mainland Chinese regime, what the relationship between Canberra and Washington faces goes deeper than military challenges from the People’s Liberation Army.
In spite of decades of close relations between the two Anglophone giants, Chinese economic influence and soft power combined with shifting political attitudes in Australia may have given Beijing levers of influence it seems to be eager to exploit.
Both China and the United States have raised their profile in the region. China has built up bases and ships in the disputed South China Sea, to which America responded with a change in strategy in 2013--the pivot to Asia. And pressure has mounted on Australia to take a stand.
