ABSTRACT
When the Howard government was first elected in March 1996 on the campaign pledge of upgrading the Australia-US alliance, few could have imagined the extent to which its promises would be realised. Yet, after eleven years in office, Australia’s Howard government had significantly intensified the alliance. By 2007, Australia had supported US global strategic policy and, with the US, was at war in Afghanistan and Iraq. Australia had given in-principle support for the US Missile Defence programme and approved US equipment and supply basing in northern Australia. The US encouraged Australia’s acceptance of an active regional security role and cited Australia’s leadership of the UN peacekeeping force in East Timor as a model for its allies’ regional engagements. Australia too, embraced further economic integration with the US and in 2004 signed the Australia-US Free Trade Agreement. The government thus had implemented bilateralism as Australia’s preferred foreign policy diplomatic track.
