Anzus Paper

ANZUS or Australia-New Zealand-United States Security Treaty was signed in 1951 due to the security relationship between Australia and the United States, which traced back to the most critical stage of World War 2 (Edwards & Tow, 2001). There is no single definition of what constitutes a middle power. I believe that middle power is a term used in the field of international relations to describe states that are not superpowers or great powers, but still have some influence internationally. Canada and more importantly Australia are among those countries considered to be middle powers. The aim of this paper is the answer the following question: in what way, if any is Australia's anti-terrorism strategy shaped by its commitment to the ANZUS alliance, constructive management with Asia, and the perception that Australia is a 'middle power'.

In the Asia-Pacific region, the Australia-United States relationship is clearly the closest. This partnership can be described as a "special relationship" which is similar to the relationship between the United Kingdom and the United States. ANZUS is a treaty that makes that relationship even stronger than it otherwise would be. According to Edwards and Tow (2001) "ANZUS has become the framework within which Australian-American bilateral security relations have been expanded and strengthened. Defence collaboration, in particular has expended in recent years and includes substantial cooperation in intelligence gathering". This has most certainly been the case with the Australian-American relationship since the terrorist attack in New York on September 11, 2001. As we all know, as soon as the United States have asked for Australia's help in the fight against terrorism, our government did not hesitate at all, and were one of only three US allies to send their forces into Afghanistan and Iraq. After the Bali bombing, the Australian government was certain that Australia is under a threat from a transnational terrorist attack, and that it could occur at any time, anywhere. Since then the Australian Defense Forces are more likely to be needed for anti-terrorist operations with its allies around the globe, like the situation in Afghanistan, then they would be against a conventional attack on Australia (Firth, 2005).

Australia stepping up and taking sides with the United States in the fight against terrorism is nothing more than a natural thing to do by the Australian government. That after all was the whole purpose of the ANZUS treaty when it was signed over fifty years ago, "to support each other in a time of need" (Edwards & Tow, 2001). So when America was attacked by Al-Qaeda in 2001, the Howard administration could do nothing less than to invoke the treaty and stand by its ally. We have done so during the Vietnam war, and the Gulf war, and now we do so in the fight against terrorism. It is in Australia's best interests to have America by our side, if for no other reason then to make sure that America will help Australia in case of any kind of a terrorist attack on Australian soil. Even the Labour Opposition approved of Howard's decision to invoke the ANZUS treaty and back the United States in its war against terrorism. This clearly shows the importance of the alliance between America and Australia (Albinski, 2001). The Australian government sees the ANZUS alliance as fundamental to Australia's defence policy, and it still remains central to Australia's security today, and it sees Australia as a minor ally of the United States in maintaining global security, wherever the conflict might be (Firth, 2001). ANZUS treaty just simply makes it easier for Australia to stand by America whenever it is needed, without having to explain its reasons to the whole world.

I believe that Australia's constructive engagement with Asia does not seem to be influencing its anti-terrorism strategy at all, although the Australian government should probably take it into consideration more than it actually seems to be. As I have mentioned earlier, Australia has backed the United States one hundred percent in the American war against global terrorism, without appearing to see the negative aspect of doing so. According to Williams (2002)

"the longer-term downside of a 'no strings' coalition commitment is that if the war on terrorism is extended by the US to attacks on other Muslim countries, it could well cause damage to Australia's relationship with its Muslim neighbours, particularly Indonesia, and possibly affect its Gulf trading situation".

If something like this should happen, it would be a huge blow to Australian economy, not something we can afford to gamble with. It is not like Australia's involvement would really make a difference for United States in this war against terror. And there should be no risk of losing their trust, and also protection in case of an attack on Australia, as Australia has proved to be a friend to America many times before, and has paid its 'insurance