Sydney, Sep 30 (ANI): The Australian Government had good relations with Asian countries, but as a society it was viewed in the region as hostile, frightened and unwelcoming, according to a former envoy.
John McCarthy was a former envoy to Japan, Indonesia, India, Vietnam and Thailand.
The new review of Australia's relationship with Asia could be a critical first step in reshaping its relationship with the region, he said.
McCarthy told the Sydney Morning Herald it was vital that the review announced on Wednesday - being headed by the former treasury secretary Ken Henry - made a number of recommendations to turn Australia's relationship with Asia around.
"I think there are certain things that require a lot of examination and require considerable heightened consciousness in Australia. There needs to be a much greater public consciousness that the region is changing," McCarthy said.
He said there needed to be an acceptance of the diminished economic power and influence of Japan, the rise of India and the resurgence of Indonesia.
"It's not just China and the US, there is a whole dynamic of movement in the region, which we're right in the middle of," he said.
McCarthy said the locus of diplomatic and economic activity has shifted from the United States and Europe to the Asia-Pacific, but that Australia was ill-equipped to take advantage of this. (ANI)
|
|
Comments:
