Caution and Compromise in Australia's China strategy

Policy consistency and diplomatic decorum have been the dominant themes of Canberra’s publicly advertised approach to Beijing since the May 2022 federal election. The Albanese Labor government has reaffirmed all its Coalition predecessor’s major China-related national security and defence priorities. Among other areas of policy continuity, Australia under Albanese is still trying to minimise China’s security role in the Pacific, expand US military presence at Australian ports and airfields, combat Chinese government interference in domestic politics, and acquire nuclear-powered submarines through the AUKUS security partnership with the United States and the United Kingdom (see ‘How Fearful is China’s Military Rise?’, page 199).