Australia and Japan : a defence relationship?

Abstract

This thesis is concerned with the conjunction of two themes. The first is the new tempo of Australia's security relationship with Japan. Since the late 1980s, governments in Canberra and Tokyo have increasingly called for greater partnership in pursuing shared security interests in the Asia-Pacific theatre. This development has been largely a result of the rise of Japan as a major international power, and a corresponding revival of doubts about the role of the US, hitherto the predominant power in the region. These questions about Australia's strategic environment have been thrown into sharp relief by the second theme of the thesis - the impact of the end of the Cold War on the international and regional order. The forces that precipitated the Cold War's demise, and its after effects, have raised fundamental questions about the international system, not least being for Australia, its future security environment and defence ties. This thesis, therefore, focuses on the intersection of emerging trends in one of Australia's major bilateral relationships and in the strategic order. The thesis is accordingly divided into two elements: an examination of the evolution of Australia-Japan ties and the recent development of defence links, and an analysis of the key systemic forces which will influence the future development of these links.