ABSTRACT
This chapter charts the course of Australian foreign policy during the first two decades of the twenty-first century. Given Australia's growing economic dependence on China, it began a very difficult time for policy-makers in managing one of the central dilemmas of Australian foreign policy: remaining a loyal American ally whilst preserving deepening economic ties to China. The last objective in the chapter was to strengthen the UN and American-led "global order" through the possible deployment of Australian forces around the globe. It argued that weakening the Howard government's border protection regime was directly responsible for the inevitable rise in deaths at sea that the increase in asylum seekers was more attributable to "pull factors" government policy than "push factors" domestic conditions in countries like Afghanistan and Sri Lanka. The central strategic dilemma of balancing security ties with the United States against economic engagement with China is as pressing as ever and more challenging as broader structural shifts have taken place.
