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James Curran

Australia’s delicate dance with ASEAN

The government has made ASEAN centrality the guiding star of its foreign policy. But ASEAN itself is struggling to maintain the unity required in a challenging regional environment.

James CurranInternational editor

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Since coming to office, Foreign Minister Penny Wong has made “ASEAN centrality” the linchpin of Australian foreign policy.

In an age of great power rivalry, Wong has said consistently that Canberra will meet South-East Asia where it is, that it lands in its capitals to listen, not lecture, seeking with its regional partners to construct a new “strategic equilibrium”.

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James Curran is The Australian Financial Review’s international editor and professor of modern history at Sydney University.

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    Original URL: https://www.afr.com/policy/foreign-affairs/australia-s-delicate-dance-with-asean-20230719-p5dpi7