An arrangement for all seasons : the contributions of the Five Power Defence Arrangements to Australian strategic interests, 1971-2010
Date
2011
Authors
Henderson, Michael John
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Abstract
Australia has been an active member of the Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA) since 1971, yet there has been no extensive analysis to determine the contributions that FPDA membership has provided to Australia. This is surprising as the FPDA is the second oldest, and only other, multilateral defence organisation in the Asia Pacific after the 1951 Security Treaty between Australia, New Zealand and the United States. This thesis aims to determine the specific ways in which the FPDA has contributed to Australian strategic interests between 1971 and 2010. In order to accomplish this, this study utilises the analytical framework of defence engagement, as this framework is most suited to recognising Australia's distinct diplomatic and military commitments made under the aegis ofthe FPDA. To illustrate these contributions, this thesis looks at three distinct time periods in the history ofthe FPDA: its origins between 1947 and 1971; how the Arrangements fulfilled Australian expectations from 1971 to the late 1980s; and how the Arrangements surpassed Australian expectations from the late 1980s to 2010. In the chapters covering the existence ofthe Arrangements, the Australian commitment is divided into two sections for the purpose of analysis under the defence engagement framework: Australian defence diplomacy and Australian military commitment. The framework of defence engagement is applied to primary and secondary written sources on the Arrangements as well as interviews with key academics and policymakers involved in the FPDA. This study found that the FPDA has been a creative and positive approach to Australia's need to ensure its involvement in regional defence and to contribute to its defence relationships with key allies. Australia's involvement in the FPDA between 1971 and 2010 has received positive support from within its region as well as from traditional allies. Through the Arrangements, Australia took an important role in the security ofthe Association of South East Asian Nations at a critical period in the organisation's history. This role allowed Australia to make a significant regional contribution in the areas of Australian defence expertise, including operating offshore as part of a coalition. Participation also allowed Australia to contribute to its traditional and long-standing defence relationships with the United Kingdom and the United States. As a result, the FPDA has been an unspectacular and under-appreciated but cumulatively significant contribution to Australia's shift in strategic focus to the Asia-Pacific.
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Thesis (PhD)
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