Time to reconcile domestic politics with a (new) place in the world

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This was published 6 years ago

Time to reconcile domestic politics with a (new) place in the world

By Nicholas Stuart

This week's ASEAN summit in Sydney is fast becoming an existential battlefield: not simply for our place in the region, but for Australia's soul and future.

Soul – because any values we possess (or, perhaps, the lack of them) will be prominently on display. Future – because the world is changing rapidly and our success (or failure) to navigate a successful path forward within our region, incorporating a vigorous exposition of what it actually means to be Australian, will become dramatically apparent over the course of the weekend.

Illustration: Dionne Gain

Illustration: Dionne Gain

Unfortunately, things aren't moving well so far. We've managed to accomplish the seemingly impossible: trashing our own ideals while still managing to alienate the neighbourhood.

How? Politicians on both sides have found it much easier to simply pander to the domestic audience. They're pretending Australia is still a significant 'player' on the world scene, capable of influencing events way beyond our shores. We're not.

'We're not Asian and shouldn't try to be': President of Philippines Rodrigo Duterte, Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Republic of Korea President Moon Jae-in during the East Asia Summit "family photo".

'We're not Asian and shouldn't try to be': President of Philippines Rodrigo Duterte, Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Republic of Korea President Moon Jae-in during the East Asia Summit "family photo".Credit: Fairfax Media

That doesn't mean we shouldn't try, but we'll have to be a lot smarter in the way we go about accomplishing our goals.

To understand the extent of the challenge; the depth of change in our region, look at production figures.

In 1970 our (nominal) GDP was twice that of the rest of ASEAN combined. Today that ratio's reversed and we barely produce half of the goods our Asian neighbours manage. We are in the trillion dollar club, unlike our neighbours, and two years ago the International Monetary Fund reckons we produced some US$1.223 trillion worth of goods. In that same year Indonesia's GDP was US$0.936 trillion, Thailand's US$0.390, the Philippines US$0.311, Malaysia US$0.302, and even tiny Singapore managed US$0.296. Vietnam was the laggard, producing just US$0.201, but that was still in front of New Zealand (US$0.170 trillion).

In productivity rankings it's a similar story. We're in 10th place, producing $58,941 worth of goods each. Singapore is catching up in 12th place. Each worker there produces $55,231 per head.

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Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen.

Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen.Credit: Heng Sinith

This in a period when we're patting ourselves on the back for doing so well, when all we've really managed is to boost GDP by importing people.

Our productivity rankings are probably slipping even further at the moment, as people stop working to devour this interesting column.

A recent, insightful, "Centre of Gravity" Paper, produced by the ANU's Tony Milner and Rod Huisken, cogently pointed out that the world is not waiting, breath poised, to hear Australia's verdict on developments on China. That boat has long passed (China's GDP is today well beyond US$11,391 trillion). Southeast Asia is more important to us than either the US or Japan and it's about time we engaged intellectually with developments here.

We're not Asian and shouldn't try to be. We don't have a lot of people living on rich soil, we have few people living on a dry land. So how do we engage? By celebrating that difference, endorsing our values (without attempting to export them) and not attempting to join the club.

Take a little thing – like Cambodia's Hun Sen's deadly serious threat to "get" any protesters who show up to demonstrate against his increasingly brutal, authoritarian regime.

"Do not burn my photo" was his chilling warning to those threatening to protest his arrival in Sydney by burning an effigy. "I will follow you home . . . I will follow you and beat you at home".

That's just a small example of the vicious way he works and the smart money suggests the threat was issued simply to draw a response from us that would give him an excuse to stay home.

A peace process designed by ANU Chancellor Gareth Evans installed Hun Sen in power. Evans' book offers up detailed reasoning explaining why, at the time, this was the only option forward. Trouble is the Cambodian strongman wanted more. Then we looked the other way in 1993 (when he lost the election but retained power) and in 1998 (when he seized power in a coup and we closed our embassy gates to his opponents).

Last week the university organised an exceptional seminar to examine the issues. The key realisation I walked away with was hardly surprising – Cambodia is another nation. Its problems won't be solved here, by us.

Thinking that displays a remarkable hubris.

So does the suggestion that we understand this region, or are part of southeast Asia.

We don't brutally repress minorities (Myanmar); encourage extra-judicial killings (Philippines); our corruption's comparatively minor (Malaysia); we have real political freedom (Vietnam); coup-installed government (Thailand); escaped hereditary rule (Brunei); and we have a genuine democracy (Singapore). Special call-out, here, to Indonesia. Its Tifa Foundation's helped organise the Cambodian seminar.

What we don't need to do is force other countries to become like us. Turns out that our 'universal' values don't appear to be quite so commonly endorsed as we think they should be.

What we do need to do is stop Hun Sen's son coming over here, as a hosted guest of our military, and then looking away as he organises within our local community to intimidate Australians. Malcolm Turnbull needs to emphasise, just as ASEAN does, that we'll do things our own way in our house.

That requires getting smart about Asia and reconciling domestic politics with a (new) place in the world.

Nicholas Stuart is a Canberra author and columnist

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