The inter-relationships and interdependence of a nation are extremely important to the success of any nation, Australia is located in the Oceania region and has an overall positive relationship with its neighboring nations as well as with others far away. The first international relationship that is extremely important to discuss when looking at Australia, is their relationship with The United Kingdom. Although these two countries are on different continents the relationship between them is extremely important to discuss, because The United Kingdom’s colonial history in Australia is the reason why the country looks the way it does today. The United Kingdom used Australia as a penal colony, this means that they would send criminals to isolate and do forced labor there (Zhuang, 2020). The United Kingdom placed troops in the country to prevent any convict uprising or resistance of colonization from the Aboriginal people (A&E Television Networks, 2022). The United Kingdom would also go on to colonize other countries in the Oceania region besides Australia including, New Zealand, Fiji, Kiribati, Tuvalu, the Solomon Islands, Tonga, and Samoa (Australian War Memorial, 2017). The colonial history is an example of the interrelationships in the Oceania region, this history of colonization is one of the ways that the countries in this region connect to each other. Today, Australia is a constitutional monarchy, which according to the royal family while the queen was still alive she was considered to be the Queen of Australia not just the Queen of the United Kingdom (Zhuang, 2020). This means that the royal family is not involved in the day-to-day political or economic functions of the Australian Government, but instead they are more symbolic and carry out ceremonial roles (Royal Household, 2019). This has helped to place a positive impact on the relationship of the United Kingdom and Australia, as they have cooperated with each other on a variety of foregin policies, security, trade and economic policies through the years (Australia High Commission, 2019). Although Australia does have positive relationships with the other nations in their region it is most common that they will act with the West when it comes to defense, security, and the economy. Despite the country being located far away from Europe and the United States the UN Regional Group of Member States categories Australia in the Western group.
Australia’s close proximity to Asia means they are involved in building relationships not only with countries in the Oceania region but also with Asian nations. An example of this can be seen in 2008 when they publicly supported India and Japan as they were trying to get permanent seats in the UN Security council (Jain, 2009). Australia’s relationship with Japan was also strengthened through the Trilateral Security Dialogue. This Dialogue was a way to build trust and establish security in the Asian-Pacific region. Japan and Australia were both part of this dialogue and through it they further strengthened their relationship with each other. Australia also has three of their largest embassies located in Tokyo, Beijing, and Jakarta (Calvert, 2003). Another way that Australia is involved with the nations in its region is through preservation of marine resources. Most of the countries in the Oceania region are islands so marine life and the environment are extremely important issues that they all need to be working on together. There have been many positive discussions between countries since 2009 about being more sustainable and preserving the marine resources that they all heavily rely upon (Gunasekara & Karim, 2021).
The interdependence, or what connects the nations in this region together would be the water that surrounds these majority islands nations (Sternquist, 2007). This makes trade among the countries of Oceania extremely important and easy to import and export goods through ships. Australia’s relationship with these countries can be seen with them trying to create free trade agreements with Thailand, Singapore, and Malaysia. As well as their relationship with New Zealand, who they work closely with when it comes to politics, economics, security, and trade. The two nations have recently signed a Closer Economic Partnership between them and the ten members of the ASEAN, as a way to create easier trade between Oceania and South-East Asia (Calvert, 2003).
Figure 4
Map of the Oceania Region
