Government not to blame for Canberra’s China challenge

Supposed missteps have provoked accusations that the government is ill-equipped to manage Sino-Australian relations.
 
In November 2013, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop was severely reprimanded by her Chinese counterpart for taking the bold move of summoning the Chinese ambassador to Australia to explain China's newly established Air Defense Identification Zone.
 
The government also seemed to demote Australia's relationship with China when in October last year it labelled Japan our 'closest friend in Asia' and suggested in January this year that the United States is our most important economic partner.
 
These episodes prompted Australia's first ambassador to the People's Republic of China, Stephen FitzGerald, to question whether the government had 'any idea' where it was steering relations with Beijing.
 
The government should not despair: With capitals across Asia finding relations with an emboldened Beijing increasingly fraught, Canberra's difficulties are not unique.
 
Tokyo is regularly subjected to harsh criticism from Beijing as Japan faces off with China over the disputed Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands and moves to counterbalance growing Chinese military might by modernising its defence forces.
 
On Wednesday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Hua Chunying, even accused Japan of 'challenging the world's anti-fascism achievements and the post-war order.'
 
Meanwhile, Manila's and Hanoi's relationships with Beijing regularly feature naval showdowns and sabotage.
 
Hanoi maintains that China has repeatedly vandalised Vietnamese vessels, while Beijing expelled the Philippines from Scarborough Shoal in April 2012 and this year issued new restrictions on non-Chinese fishing boats in the South China Sea's contested waters.
 
In the latest development, Filipino fishermen were blasted with water cannons by a Chinese law enforcement ship last month, which prompted Manila to reassure the country that the armed forces would not hesitate to defend the nation 'when the time comes.'
 
Despite warming ties since the 1962 Sino-Indian war, consolidating relations with Beijing is proving difficult for policymakers in New Delhi as well.
 
While ongoing negotiations to resolve longstanding border disputes between India and China fail to yield a breakthrough, New Delhi continues to hedge against the danger of deteriorating relations with Asia's number one economic and military power by deepening its ties with Hanoi and Tokyo – both Beijing's historical enemies.
 
As China's rise upsets Asia's strategic and territorial status quo, it is hardly surprising that regional capitals are struggling to overcome stresses and strains in their relations with Beijing. And as an influential middle power on Asia's periphery, it is equally unremarkable that Canberra is confronted with the same challenge.

Dr Benjamin Herscovitch is a Beijing-based Research Fellow at The Centre for Independent Studies.