I would like to comment on "Australia's new friend" (#106). The article purports to analyse the Australian government's new White Paper on foreign and trade policy (which has yet to be released publicly) and claims that Australian foreign policy is shifting focus from Asia to the United States. First, the United States is hardly a "new friend" to Australia. On the contrary, the United States has been-and will continue to be-one of our most important strategic and economic partners. Second, this claim of shift in focus is simply untrue.

The article relies to a large extent on a commentary written in the Australian Financial Review that contained a similar thesis. In response to that article, the Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said that such a thresis was "preposterous and wrong-headed". He stressed that Australia would continue to place an extremely high priority on its continued and expanded engagement in Asia. He noted, however, that Australian foreign policy was not aboiut choosing between regions but about maximising our strengths.

The article also refers to the Australian Foreign Affairs and Trade Department's (DFAT, which is responsible for drafting the White Paper) response to the Australian Financial Review commentary. The Secretary of DFAT, Dr Calvert, has commented that this commentary totally distorted the briefing given to journalists on the draft White Paper. Dr Calvert highlighted that some commentators needed to take a more mature view of Australia's external policy. In this context, he noted that Australia has important relationships all around the world and especially in the Asia-Pacific region. The purpose of foreign and trade policy is to maximise Australia's interests in each one of these relationships. An advance in any one relationship does not have to be at the expense of the others.

Indeed, Australia's close relations with the United States and with Asia are mutually reinforcing and not mutually exclusive. We do not have to choose between the two, and to sugest otherwise would be as simplistic as it would be ill-informed.

Crispin Conroy,
Australian Ambassador