Australia and the United States: A Long-Standing Friendship
Australia and the United States have a long-standing friendship. Australia was still a British colony when it existed. American ships were the first ones to trade with the nation. Despite the fact that their conquerors were less than pleased with this development, the Australians gladly welcomed them. The Americans' entrance marked the start of a vital and close partnership between the two nations. New Zealand first joined the ANZU treaty's creation of a military alliance, but later withdrew because it felt it could not suit American political goals. Australia, however, is a small nation in the area and required a strong ally to maintain her position. The USA needed an associate to protect most of its interests in the area. The alliance grew strong due to the common interests of the countries and traditions. This essay provides some of the reasons why the coalition keeps standing.The Protection of Australia
The US-Australia alliance is critical to maintaining the protection of Australia. The Australian defence system highly depends on the input of the United States. When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, the Americans came to the rescue (Parliament of Australia, 2017). They stopped Japanese advances that posed a great threat to Australia. Since then, the two countries have always been allies when in times of war. Australia fought alongside the United States in Iraq and Afghanistan during the war on terror to preserve. The two nations have fought together in Vietnam and Korea. Despite this relations, most people feel that Australia is not gaining much from this alliance ("Australia, New Zealand, and the United States: internal change and alliance relations in the ANZUS states," 1991). They feel that the country got caught up in a war that could have been avoided, as it receives false information from the USA intelligence. However, Australia military power is highly dependent on the USA and part of the reasons why the country backed America was to protect its geo-strategic interests ("Australia, New Zealand, and the United States: internal change and alliance relations in the ANZUS states," 1991). America continues to provide military support to the country while Australia fights alongside the nation in times of any conflict.Interest in the Asia-Pacific Region
The US-Australia alliance remains standing as the two countries possess an interest in the Asia-Pacific region. The affair has led to one of the most notable events between the two countries: the stationing of the US marine troops in Darwin announced by president Barack Obama. Ordinarily, foreign military forces in a nation often feel like an invasion. However, the presence of the American troops in Australia poses no threat to the country (Parliament of Australia, 2017). On the contrary, this presence is an advantage to the nation as it benefits from the extensive training and exercise of their army which allows them to gauge their ability and discover areas that may need improving. It will enable Australia to gain access to logistics and technology and also take part in peacekeeping missions in the world together with the Americans under the United Nations. Some of these tasks include the Gulf War where the United States provided helicopters, planes, communications, and intelligence. The stationing also improves the interoperability with the US forces. These initiatives serve to strengthen the relationship between the two nations and other ones in the region. They also help to improve peace and stability in the area.Historical Significance to Australia
The alliance between the two countries is of historical significance to Australia. The Europeans in Australia have always felt that it was necessary for them to have outside protection hence they turned to Britain (Baldino, Carr & Langlois, 2014). However, the British were not keen to safeguard the interests of Australia. Australia being a small country struggling to retain its western identity amidst an Asian community felt lucky on the commencement of the negotiations of the ANZU treaty. It was a military treaty between Australia, New Zealand and the United States of America. The three countries brought their military together and vowed to protect each other during the war. Australia sent a representative for their interests to be heard (Parliament of Australia, 2017). They felt that the USA was a powerful ally who could substitute the British. Additionally, the nearby country China had fallen into communism and USA wanted a relationship with Japan to use them to counter communism in the region. By supporting them in their quest, Australia took advantage of the situation to strengthen its ties with America. Nonetheless, the alliance has faced some problems with Australia not being able to balance the good and the bad. Some Australian politicians have been overenthusiastic about the partnership by claiming that whenever the USA is in a war, they will waltz in to help (Dean, Furling & Taylor). Furthermore, the neighbouring nations think that Australia has become a deputy sheriff to the United States tainting the country's image. Nonetheless, a majority of the Australians feel that the alliance is right for their country and that they will not always have same perceptions with Americans, but they can disagree without threatening the coalition.Maintaining the Relationship
Although the treaty has diligently served the interests of the two countries, some people feel that the United States of America have had a self-centred approach to Treaty for a while now especially in the course of Bush and Obama administrations. The feel that the Americans have dragged Australia into wars they could have avoided leading to Australia being in dispute with the neighbouring countries (Dean, Fruhling & Taylor, n.d.). An example is the US subsidy war against the Europeans which led to the destruction of Australian commercial products: wheat and wool. Some Australians feel that the ANZU treaty does not protect her from the consequences of the war. Nevertheless, her political leaders counter these accusations by stating that they have always pushed for the protection of her national interests in the alliance. Australian former minister of foreign affairs- Honourable Alexander Downer- proceeded to cite an example where Australia safeguarded her welfares. He mentions the bilateral trading relationship disputes where the US and other allies were not playing their role (Parliament of Australia, 2017). Australians fought for trading rights by addressing these issues to the allies. He states that despite the alliance is vital for the security of the country, and it remains active standing even on its own.Common Interests
Ultimately, there have been arguments that Australia has become overly dependent on the United States. Most people feel that it should pull out from the alliance to maintain self-reliance (Baldino, Carr & Langlois, 2014). Some Australians think that the coalition lost its importance to the country after the end of the Cold War. They feel that the country takes part in battles that it could have been avoided. On the other hand, Americans think that the alliance does not benefit them greatly. They feel that America gives more than she receives. Despite all these insights from both participants, their relationship keeps standing due to the common interests. Looking at the bigger picture, they both agree that the alliance serves for the benefit of both. Australia maintains her standing in her region with the help of the American military while the USA safeguards their interest and influence in the Pacific region. The alliance serves as a means for the two countries to share their burdens. This relationship will continue to flourish due to the common interests of the two nations.References
Retrieved 11 October 2017, from http://www.defence.gov.au/WhitePaper/docs/071-MarrickvillePeaceGroup.pdf
Australia, New Zealand, and the United States: internal change and alliance relations in the ANZUS states. (1991). Choice Reviews Online, 29(02), 29-1142-29-1142. http://dx.doi.org/10.5860/choice.29-1142
Baldino, D., Carr, A., & Langlois, A. (2014). Australian foreign policy. South Melbourne (Vic.): Oxford University Press.
ANZUS After Fifty Years – Parliament of Australia. (2017). Aph.gov.au. Retrieved 11 October 2017, from http://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/Publications_Archive/CIB/cib0102/02CIB03#positive
The Australia-United States defense alliance – Parliament of Australia. (2017). Aph.gov.au. Retrieved 11 October 2017, from http://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/BriefingBook44p/AustUSDefence
