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Thomas Wilkins: ‘Upholding a Rules-Based Order’ Australia-Japan Relations

In an era of international turmoil and strategic risk, Australia’s relationship with Japan has become ever more important. The two countries enjoy what has been dubbed a ‘special strategic partnership’, and with one eye towards the situation in Taiwan, cooperation between these like-minded Pacific democracies is ever increasing. This closeness stands in stark contrast to the bitter conflict of an earlier epoch, and the transition from enemy to ‘ally’ is a core legacy of the foresight and leadership of Robert Menzies.

When Menzies became Prime Minister for the second time in 1949, Australia was still reeling from the aftermath of World War Two and a fight for survival against imperialist Japan, which had seen Australians endure deplorable wartime atrocities. One of Menzies’s most remarkable achievements as a leader was to move Australia on from the lingering resentment towards Japan that naturally flowed from this situation, and to forge a new relationship with what has since become a key trading partner and a powerful friend. Menzies became the first Australian Prime Minister to visit Japan in 1957 and the Commerce Agreement his government signed that same year is one of the most important economic achievements in Australian political history.

Joining us to discuss the evolving nature of the Australia-Japan relationship is Dr Thomas Wilkins, Senior Lecturer in International Security at the University of Sydney. Wilkins is an expert on Asia-Pacific/Indo-Pacific security affairs, focusing on Australian and Japanese strategic and foreign policies. His conceptual research is aimed at innovating our understanding of security architecture, including alliances, strategic partnerships, and other forms of alignment, as well as international power theorising – “middle powers” and “awkward powers”. He is also highly active in security policy debates, serving as a Senior Fellow at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, a (non-resident) Senior Fellow for the Japan Institute for International Affairs (JIIA) and Regular Contributor to the Sasakawa Peace Foundation’s International Information Network Analysis (IINA).