ABSTRACT
The Asia-Pacific region has undergone dramatic changes over the past thirty years. At the most elementary level, the relative erosion of United States (US) power and the rise of the People’s Republic of China have deeply changed the structure of the regional system, putting an early end to the unipolar moment. This chapter argues that US-China-Australia relations can be understood as a strategic triangle. While the notion of the strategic triangle is commonly used to describe any situation involving three actors, it is used here more restrictively. The 9/11 attacks and the subsequent War on Terror created the conditions for even tighter relations between Washington and Canberra, thus consolidating the stable marriage around a new major issue. Australia, recognizing that its security lies in a stable Southeast Asia and Oceania should continue to encourage both powers to engage the region in a constructive and cooperative way.
