Rudd is the new regional strategic architect
WE can presume pretty much what Australia will do under the new Labor government of prime minister Kevin Rudd’s Port Moresby declaration during his recent visit.
This declaration is aptly called ‘Pacific Partners for Development’, and is Australia’s blueprint for our region in the next few years.
As far as Australian foreign policy is concerned, the Rudd government would have already reviewed its strategic policy within the first 100 days or soon after.
The new foreign policy white paper will factor in major changes in our strategic environment in the past decade, taking into account both domestic and international strategic policy considerations.
Other related white papers like defence and trade will follow suit within the first year of the new Labor leadership.
Notwithstanding, I believe there will not be major departures from Australia’s basic strategic interests and objectives towards our region, especially neighbours like PNG.
Labor will further revise current policy so its white paper is not similar in the central strategic focus of the former government’s foreign policy.
No doubt, certain key areas may get more emphasis over others in Labor’s new strategic policy framework.
Additionally, there may be some fundamental changes to its basic policy tenet with a more recent regional strategic review, and future global outlook.
Australia will focus on long term trends and seek to identify durable interests which its strategic policy must try to protect.
Moreover, Australia is well informed about long term trends that are changing its strategic environment in ways which do pose some major challenges to the new government in its future management of foreign policy.
More importantly, the Australia-US relations equation will fare a bit in a revised policy as Rudd reviews his country’s future commitment to the Middle East and Afghanistan military involvement in its ‘war against terror’ still being championed by the US.
Notwithstanding, Labor will more likely resume from where John Howard left off.
Rudd will consolidate his future foreign policy focus in trade relations to a whole new level within the Asia-Pacific region, especially with India, China and Japan.
In short, Australia’s new foreign policy will be specifically designed to augur well with its ongoing multilateral initiatives and security posture within the region, as well as promote its global presence.
The bottom line for PNG and other forum nations is to acknowledge that this is the era of Rudd as being the ‘new kid on the block’.
In the next few years, he will be the region’s new strategic architecture.
Australia’s future key focus may be two-fold simultaneously – trade investments and multiple development initiatives – to secure and promote regional stability and growth, as well as diplomatically counter China’s adventurous forays in this region.

Reginald Renagi
Gabagaba-Kemabolo
Rigo, CP
Letters