Australia's regional security policy in an uncertain era

In Southeast Asia, and especially in the Indo-Pacific Region, the role of Australia’s position as a "regional power with global interests" is increasing. In the strategic regional balance of powers it ranks fifth after the United States, China, India, and Japan. In terms of the development of regional military partnerships, which act as an amplifier of its military potential, Australia comes second after the United States. Russian scholars study various aspects of Australia's domestic, foreign, and economic policies. However, most of them are dominated by categorical assessments regarding the Australian anti-Chinese position. This article supports the idea of the dynamics of Australia's foreign policy from hedging to strategic balancing. This article analyzes Australia's regional security policy in the context of geopolitical uncertainty. Particular attention is paid to Australia's security challenges and an analysis of the dynamics of the national security strategy, Australia's participation in minilateral agreements and the influence of Australian policy on the regional security architecture. The author adheres to the research principle of “analytical eclecticism” formulated by R. Sil and P.J. Katzenstein. To achieve the objectives, in the introductory part, the author gave a brief analysis of the features of the security architecture in the region, which consists of the intersection of multilateral, minilateral agreements, the hub-and-spoke alliance structure and latticework supported by the United States. Australia has revised its national defense strategy, based on the fact that its geographical position is no longer a guarantor of security. The article examines the supporting blocks of Australia's security partnership, which allow it to rearm and create security belts. China uses the means at its disposal for political, economic or military coercion of regional states, including Australia, to accept the Chinese model of Asian order. Nevertheless, the Australian leadership seeks to avoid demonstrating an openly anti-Chinese position. In the context of strategic uncertainty associated with the lack of a specific concept of US policy in the region, Australia will continue the policy of strategic balancing, strengthening minilateral agreements with regional and external actors. The author declares no conflicts of interests.

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