艾巴尼斯的北京行讓中型國家外交重生

Albanese's Beijing Visit Revitalizes Middle Power Diplomacy

自1970年代初英國加入歐洲共同市場，不再能提供包括澳洲在內的大英國協會員國低關稅貿易優惠待遇後，澳洲出口重心即被迫轉至以日本為首的東亞，澳洲外交政策決策者即開始憂心未來有可能會面臨在地理與歷史間做抉擇，因為前者為其經貿利益之所在，而後者則是其安全之所繫。儘管澳洲與亞洲經貿互補高，且互動緊密，但傳統上澳洲卻一直視亞洲為其潛在安全威脅來源，而西方則是其安全保障。

Since the United Kingdom's accession to the European Common Market in 1973, it could no longer offer preferential low-tariff trade treatment to member states of the Commonwealth of Nations, including Australia. Australia was forced to shift the center of gravity of its exports to East Asia, led by Japan, Australian foreign policymakers began to worry about the possibility of a future in which it would be faced with a choice between geography, which was a source of economic interests, and history, which referring to security alliance with the West, the United States. Despite the high level of trade and economic complementarity and interaction between Australia and Asia, Australia has traditionally viewed Asia as a potential source of security threats, while the West as a guarantor of its security.