ABSTRACT
Seeking to qualify as a member or perhaps an associate member of the East Asian club, Australian governments and supporters of the ‘enmeshment’ policy mounted several arguments. We have noted already the argument that Australia was no more different from others in the region than they were from each other. Another argument, directed primarily at the Australian public, has been that Australia has no other anchorage to attach itself to in a world in which regional associations are becoming increasingly important, so that its only recourse is East Asia. There are also arguments to the effect that Australia can make an important contribution to East Asia. But the argument from convergence was of particular importance. It held out the prospect of disarming claims that Australia was too different from the other countries of the region to fit well with them and it offered reassurance to those in Australia who had reservations about throwing in our lot with some countries which were thought to have different standards in regard to human rights, the suppression of minority opinion and so on. Moreover it added a certain sense of inevitability about the appropriateness of Australia engaging with East Asia.
