Australian Outlook

In this section

11 November: The Week in Australian Foreign Affairs

12 Nov 2021
By Isabella Keith
Parliament House At Dusk, Canberra ACT Source: Thennicke https://bit.ly/2ZsyTT3

This week in Australian foreign affairs: Payne in Southeast Asia, Australian Embassy to open in Bern, Professor Hilary Charlesworth elected to the ICJ, and more.

This week, Minister for Foreign Affairs Marise Payne travelled to Southeast Asia to visit Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Indonesia, following last month’s agreement to establish a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between ASEAN and Australia. In Malaysia, Payne co-chaired the first Australia-Malaysia Annual Foreign Minister’s Meeting following the elevation of the bilateral relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in January. She met with members of the Cambodian Government and “highlight[ed] Australia’s support for the country’s role as the new Chair of ASEAN.” Payne opened the Canberra Ngunnawal Room at the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam, and announced an additional 2.7 million COVID-19 vaccine doses for the nation, as well as a $60 million package of support for COVID-19 access. She met with her Indonesian counterpart, Retno Marsudi, in Jakarta and announced the delivery of an additional 7.5 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to support their recovery from the pandemic. Payne co-chaired the second ASEAN-Australia Women, Peace and Security Dialogue and reiterated that “ASEAN centrality is at the heart of Australia’s vision for the Indo-Pacific.”

On 29 October, Payne and her Swiss counterpart, Ignazio Cassis, announced that Australia will open an Australian Embassy in Bern, Switzerland, in 2022.  The announcement coincided with the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Australia and Switzerland. Payne noted that the Embassy opening will “strengthen the political, economic, strategic, cultural and scientific ties that unite our two countries”. Prime Minister Scott Morrison referred to the announcement as “a significant step in increasing cooperation” between the two nations.

Payne noted on 8 November that Australia will support two new climate investments to raise up to $500 million to support countries in Southeast Asia “to adapt to climate change through better management of forests, land and agriculture.” The investments, to be made into the Tropical Asia Forest Fund 2 and a new Asia Climate-Smart Landscape Fund in Indonesia, will “leverage the Australian Government’s development assistance to mobilise much larger levels of private sector investment into the region.”

On 6 November, Payne and Attorney-General Michaelia Cash jointly congratulated Professor Hilary Charlesworth on her election to the International Court of Justice. Professor Charlesworth’s election filled the vacancy that resulted from the passing of fellow Australian, James Crawford. She has served as a judge ad hoc twice on the International Court of Justice and was nominated for the election by the independent Australian National Group.

Australia, alongside fifteen other nations, issued a joint statement on the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) on 6 November. The statement extended the sixteen nations’ gratitude for the two bodies’ “joint effort to investigate allegations of human rights violations and abuses, and of serious violations of international humanitarian law and international refugee law, committed by parties to the conflict in the Tigray region of Ethiopia [over the past year].”

On 10 November, Minister for Defence Peter Dutton virtually attended the ASEAN-Australia Informal Defence Ministers’ Meeting. Dutton noted that “ASEAN sits at the heart of the Indo-Pacific and Australia is proud to be ASEAN’s oldest Dialogue Partner and a long-standing partner for defence cooperation.” He also “briefed counterparts on AUKUS” and stressed that it “was not a defence alliance or security pact and did not change Australia’s strategy … [but instead] would complement Australia’s network of international partnerships, including ASEAN.”

Assistant Minister for Defence Andrew Hastie noted that the Royal Australian Navy and United States Navy had successfully completed Exercise Dugong 2021 in Western Australia on 5 November. Exercise Dugong involved “a simulated scenario to test their ability to keep the Port of Fremantle and Indian Ocean accesses open in the event of a hostile action against Australia.” Hastie noted that “we live in a region that is at the centre of great power competition, our Indian Ocean approaches are vital sea lanes, and we must be ready to meet our changing strategic circumstances.”

On 9 November, Minister for Trade Dan Tehan launched the Blueprint for Trade and Investment with Indonesia in a speech at the Asia Society Australia. Tehan noted that “Australia is heavily interested in the Indonesian project, as we should be … It is profoundly in Australia’s national interests to engage much more deeply with Indonesia as it emerges as a major economy. That means government and business but also communities and individuals all across Australia.” The Blueprint sets out the opportunities for greater bilateral engagement and aims to build on the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement.

Isabella Keith is a weekly columnist for Australian Outlook. She is also an undergraduate student at the Australian National University studying Law and Politics, Philosophy and Economics. Isabella’s research interests include international law and comparative constitutional law.

This article is published under a Creative Commons License and may be republished with attribution.