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5 JUN 2000

THE JOURNAL

I<aan I<esedar S202: Australia and its Asian Context Instr: Jan Gothard 5 June 2000

The Land Feminism Missed The Age.com.au Men About the House, Japanese Style Tuesday 30 May 2000 Looks like the Japanese men don't cook, don't clean, and don't take care of the kids, because those are the women's jobs. Sounds good to me ....just kidding. In Japanese society, the male feels that his job is outside the house, and the women's job is inside the house. The funny aspect is that opinion polls show that the women agree.

So, they are not forced to stay home and take care of chores, but rather they feel that is their contribution to sustenance of the family unit. Even more interesting is that a higher percentage of younger people agree that there is a division of roles that should be abided by. In this day and age, while the women's movement is so strong and women are more and more often seen as equals, there are still women that do not see themselves as equal. And the younger generation isn't even coming out fighting for these rights. They all seem content with the status quo. I guess at least have of the myth of Asian women can be verified. They will take care of the ~u while you are at work, and they won't complain about it. That is definitely~ted in one of

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our readings as one of the reasons for ordering an Asian bride. But, like they say, every myth is based on some bit of reality.

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Concluding Remarks What have been the most significant issues in Australia's relations with Asia this semester?

Throughout the semester, many different subjects received a great deal of press. The issues that have received the most attention in Australia have dealt with East Timor and Taiwan. When it comes down to it, most of the issues concern Australia's inability to decide the direction of its future. Where Australia sees itself in fifty years is a question that I believe this nation is unable to answer. This has led to inconsistency in its policy initiatives.

East Timor has been a big issue for quite some time now, and was the first major, international issue I heard about upon arrival in this country. United Nations intervention in the region allowed Australia to flex its muscle. Unfortunately, I believe that this flexing was inappropriate and unnecessary. Australia stepped in to position itself as a nation that's willing to lead a hwnan rights battle and gain recognition as a political power; their action did not have the intended effect. The United Nations intervention had not been in place long enough, so when Australia stepped in, they were taking all the credit/blame for whatever consequences occurred.

Australian put an end to the violence with very few casualties. By doing so they angered the Indonesian government who now believed they had been betrayed, and at the same time were not rewarded for their actions by the members of the United Nations. In fact, this may have contributed to Australia's loss of a seat in the United Nations council. Thus their intervention only served to harm them in the region.

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The significance of this strife lies mainly in the governmental structure of the two

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nations, mainly the battle between communism and democracy. Both nations have

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Asian economic crisis of 1997-98 with very little damage. As fear of the spread of communism subsided after the Cold War, China became more a prominent figure in

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The other ongoing scuffle in the region is the one between China and Taiwan.°"'""""

emerging economies that could one day be powerful, but only China has survived the c-

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the region as a trading partner. Now this issue has risen: and if ~s were to be taken, ~·- ~

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I Australia would most likely back Taiwan. This is due to the fact that Taiwan is a

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democracy, and the United States has a strong desire to promote democracy while \

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squashing communism at every legitimate opportunity. If Australia does not want to co,-_

offend the United States, it would join in the battle for democracy.

What does this say about Australia? Is Australia still a marionette of the

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United States? I don't think so. I think Australia's main problem lies in its inability I\-. e..

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to decide upon its place in the world. Australia must decide whether it wants to be an ~ \... J.. .i.... · v

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eastern outpost of Western society or an Asian nation. Many peo;fe

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Australia coul~never be part of an Asian group, but I don't believe this is true. The

e..' same people argue that Australia is just too different from the Eastern nations. Many

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ofthesellations are completely different from each other; they have separate religions, different skin tones, and different languages. Besides shared borders, how are they any closer to each other than they are to Australia? They are called Asian nations, but Asia is a collective term that describes many different types of people.

Thus Asia is better used to describe a region than a certain type of people. What ~ .. . there fior Australia to b e kept out of the region. . ? 'f;,.. \ .......__ ~ '- ~w.,..... l eg1tunate reason 1s \ ~ \t..l«>Y ~o .,~ r ~ "'""' '-''1 j>rv3'1r' . ~ I think the defining factor in the creation of the Australian idenJ°ty lies in the <--~ -.........t.. \ ~.v'

hands of its foreign policy. Australia must decide whether it will follow the United

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States and thus retain the western image, or jump in by itself and gain the confidence of the eastern nations. This is no small feat, but large gains were definitely made during the Keating administration. Keating saw an importance in creating an Asian presence and thus shaped policy around those concerns. When Howard stepped in, his belief was that Keating placed too much emphasis on appeasing the Asian nations and therefore pulled back a little on the Asia-oriented policies, so as not to undermine relations with large Western nations. This back and forth motion creates a wishywashy image of Australia's role in the region and is due to the lack of a precise vision for the future.

Australia should take an active role in the region. As the region recovers from the economic crisis, production and trade will begin to boom again. This would be " '"" good news for Australia because it would increase the demand for their raw materials.

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If you think about it, what ties these nations together are economic needs. The Japanese and the Malaysians~e two completyly different societies yet they are able J...~

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to work together because it is in their best interests to do so. Every nation has a

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comparative advantage in some stage of production, and when integrated, they reduce costs while increasing trade, thus benefiting both sides. Australia has nothing to gain in the region, outside of economic gains. The threat of communism does not strike

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the same fear in the hearts of Australians as it did in the past. Moreover, this nation does not have any real enemies. Consequently, they are not saving themselves from potential wars, but rather ensuring future growth by maintaining a good rapport.

One thing that became evident through my research for this journal is that one can never predict the future. The Soviets instilled fear in the hearts of many when they exclaimed that they would bury everyone economically. Leaders like John F. Kennedy sent out the message that we must get our economies moving to ensure that we are not left behind. Japan's rapid rise lead to fear that they would soon surpass the United States, and was also followed by rapid growth in the Asian region. All of these nations have crashed since their rapid rise. One cannot base policy on who appears to be the next big economy because the assumption might be wrong and could cost the nation dearly. The United States's current dominance does not indicate that Australia should completely back the United States and forsake all others, nor does Asian growth signify an urgent need to become Asian. The best advice I could give Australia concerning their foreign policy is to not hop on any bandwagon, but instead march to the beat of its own drum. /

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