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  • In early 2014, three Chinese warships headed straight for Australia in what Chinese officials

  • later called a simple military exercise. The ships never left international waters, and

  • they

  • eventually turned around, but the message to Australia was clear: China is powerful.

  • One expert

  • called the event a “wake up call for [Australian] defense planners”. So, is Australia in danger?

  • Exactly how powerful are they?

  • Australia is strong, but it’s not a global force. The nation is surrounded by water,

  • which is

  • patrolled by the Australian Defense Force, the largest military in Oceania. However,

  • the nations

  • that make up Oceania are relatively small. Australia only ranks 20th on the Global Firepower

  • List, behind smaller countries like Indonesia, Poland and Taiwan. Its greatest power may

  • lie in

  • their defense. Australia’s remote location makes any invasion difficult and costly.

  • The Australian defense budget is large, and is slated to grow by over 6% to almost 30

  • billion

  • in 2015 and plans are set for more growth in the upcoming years. But this increase seems

  • to be

  • reactionary, trying to keep up with their trading partner and neighbor China, who has

  • steadily

  • increased their military spending over the past 30 years, specifically growing their

  • navy to the

  • second largest in the world. 80% of China’s oil shipments travel through the Indian Ocean,

  • which Australia also shares with other major world powers like India and Pakistan. Some

  • may

  • see Australia as geographically isolated, but an increase in activity in the waterways

  • around

  • them has forced their military to grow larger.

  • Another aspect of Australia’s power comes from careful alliances. The United States

  • remains

  • Australia’s closest military ally, but Australia is also forging stronger economic ties to

  • Indonesia

  • and China. China is Australia’s largest trading partner and over half of Australia’s

  • natural

  • resource exports go to China. Their strong economic ties most likely ensure peace between

  • the

  • two nations, despite occasional military posturing on both sides.

  • Australia is also part of many peacekeeping organizations like the UN, the G20, which

  • they

  • recently hosted, and the East Asia Summit, which includes major world powers like the

  • US,

  • Japan, Russia and India. This complex diplomacy with other nations is symptomatic of countries

  • like Australia, Canada or Norway, referred to by some ascreative middle powers”.

  • They have

  • the ability to work with my different countries, big or small, on very important issues.

  • Australia is also economically strong. They had the 12th highest GDP in 2014 but, there

  • are

  • signs that may not last. Their mining industry is currently taking a hit. Australia is home

  • to major

  • deposits of Iron Ore, Gold, Uranium and is the worlds leading supplier of Bauxite. All

  • in all, the

  • profits from mining make up 10% of the country’s total GDP. The price of these resources has

  • plummeted, partly due to the slowing of China’s economy, again Australia’s biggest trading

  • partner. So Australia does wield some economic power, but with their dollar at a five year

  • low,

  • they may be headed towards a recession.

  • Australia may never become a superpower, but it will remain a steadfastly independent and

  • well-protected nation that has the ability to influence major world issues.

In early 2014, three Chinese warships headed straight for Australia in what Chinese officials

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澳洲有多強大? (How Powerful Is Australia?)

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    Cheng-Hong Liu 發佈於 2021 年 01 月 14 日
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