Perspectives on Australian foreign policy, 1999

Purely by chance, 1999 brought together the main themes of Australian foreign policy during this century, especially the second half of it. The year was dominated by issues arising out of East Timor, the ramifications of which went far beyond the narrow confines of that sad territory. Australians faced questions of basic identity: our role and place in the region; the value and costs of the American alliance; the influence of domestic sentiment on foreign policy; the limitations of Australian power and influence; human rights; the South Pacific; and foreign trade. In this article, I will look at how events during 1999 shed light on some of these basic issues. I will not attempt to cover everything that happened; nor even less to give a blow-by-blow account of all the detail. I also ignore some important questions and relationships where there were no significant changes in 1999.