The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly impacted Australia’s international relations and foreign policy. In general terms, the virus outbreak challenged Australia’s long-time strategic positioning as a regional middle power. Previously, Australia succeeded in finding the right balance for maximizing economic gains and minimizing security threats. On the one hand, the Australian economy has become increasingly integrated into the Asia-Pacific region. On the other hand, Australia aligned itself politically with “like-minded” democracies, such as the U.S., Japan, and India. (Pan & Korolev, 2021). However, the pandemic disrupted this equilibrium, and Australian foreign policy responded by becoming more assertive and taking a distinctive anti-Chinese stance.
Most importantly, the COVID-19 outbreak created a strong sense of Chinese threat in the new, completely unknown geopolitical and socio-economic reality. According to the 2020 Lowy Institute poll, 37% of respondents claimed that China would emerge more powerful after the COVID-19 crisis (Kassam, 2020). At the same time, 68% of Australians have become less favorable toward China’s system of government due to China’s handling of the coronavirus outbreak (Kassam, 2020). This sentiment found a reflection in Australia’s foreign policy, as Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Foreign Minister Marise Payne pushed for an independent international inquiry into the COVID-19 outbreak (Dziedzic, 2020). The stance of Australia’s senior officials was seen not as a global health initiative but as an open accusation aimed directly at the Chinese Communist Party (Baldino, 2020). In this regard, the disruption of economic relations has led to an intensification of geopolitical tensions. Before the pandemic, Australia more or less tolerated China’s highly questionable actions, such as the internment of Muslims in Xinjiang and multiple transgressions in the South China Sea (Baldino, 2020). COVID-19 hurt trade with China, making it easier for the Australian foreign policy to select an anti-Chinese side.
One can claim that the COVID-19 outbreak restrained the freedom of maneuver for Australian diplomacy. For instance, Michael Heazle, a professor from Griffith University, argued that Australia would have to choose between China and the U.S. (as cited in Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia, 2020, p. 32). In this regard, it is possible to state that Australian media had already started preparing public opinion for a decisive shift in Australia’s foreign policy. For example, Sun (2021) found a convergence between the Australian liberal and conservative media portrayal of China and the COVID-19 pandemic. Regardless of their political allegiance, the Australian mainstream media criticized China for information censorship, political authoritarianism, and draconian public health measures used to handle the outbreak (Sun, 2021). Given the recent increase in anti-China sentiment in Australian society, it is possible to claim that Australia stands on the verge of a profound pro-Western turn in foreign policy.
In conclusion, one can perceive the COVID-19 pandemic as a turning point for Australia’s international relations. The pandemic has shaken Australia’s middle power identity by undermining global cooperation and bolstering the factor of strength in foreign policy. Australia and China established good bilateral trade relations at the end of the 20th and the beginning of the 21st century. However, the COVID-19 pandemic created an image of an era in which China’s influence might become powerful enough to threaten Australia’s security and moral values (Pan & Korolev, 2021). As a result, geopolitical considerations prevailed, and Australian foreign policy took a firm stance against China’s ambitions.
References
Baldino, D. (2020). Issues in Australian foreign policy January to June 2020. Australian Journal of Politics and History, 646-662.
Dziedzic, S. (2020). Australia started a fight with China over an investigation into COVID-19 — did it go too hard? ABC News.
Kassam, N. (2020). COVIDpoll: Lowy Institute polling on Australian attitudes to the coronavirus pandemic. Lowy Institute.
Pan, G., & Korolev, A. (2021). The struggle for certainty: Ontological security, the rise of nationalism, and Australia-China tensions after COVID-19. Journal of Chinese Political Science, 26(1), 115-138.
Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia. (2020). Inquiry into the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic for Australia’s foreign affairs, defence and trade.
Sun, W. (2021). The virus of fear and anxiety: China, COVID-19, and the Australian media. Global Media and China, 6(1), 24-39.