{ "id": "RL33010", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "RL", "number": "RL33010", "active": true, "source": "CRSReports.Congress.gov, EveryCRSReport.com, University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "versions": [ { "source_dir": "crsreports.congress.gov", "title": "Australia: Background and U.S. Relations", "retrieved": "2020-09-07T12:23:05.656343", "id": "RL33010_26_2020-05-13", "formats": [ { "filename": "files/2020-05-13_RL33010_daf266803091a23be445ac55738a2126d579d057.pdf", "format": "PDF", "url": "https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/RL/RL33010/26", "sha1": "daf266803091a23be445ac55738a2126d579d057" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/2020-05-13_RL33010_daf266803091a23be445ac55738a2126d579d057.html" } ], "date": "2020-05-13", "summary": null, "source": "CRSReports.Congress.gov", "typeId": "RL", "active": true, "sourceLink": "https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/details?prodcode=RL33010", "type": "CRS Report" }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 576108, "date": "2017-11-20", "retrieved": "2018-05-10T12:04:25.442387", "title": "Australia: Background and U.S. Relations", "summary": "The Commonwealth of Australia and the United States enjoy a close alliance relationship. Australia shares many cultural traditions and values with the United States and has been a treaty ally since the signing of the Australia-New Zealand-United States (ANZUS) Treaty in 1951. Australia made major contributions to the allied cause in the First and Second World Wars, and the conflicts in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Australia is also a close intelligence partner through the \u201cFive Eyes\u201d group of nations. U.S. Marines are conducting rotational deployments in northern Australia. This initiative and others demonstrate the closeness of the relationship. A traditional cornerstone of Australia\u2019s strategic outlook is the view that the United States is Australia\u2019s most important strategic partner and is a key source of stability in the Asia-Pacific region. Australian decision-makers have also believed that Australia does not have to choose between the United States and China. Some former Australian political leaders and former government officials, as well as media reports, have expressed concern about where Australia\u2019s relationship with the United States may be headed under the Trump Administration.\nWhile Australia has a complex array of international relations, its geopolitical context is to a large extent defined by its economic relationship with China and its strategic relationship with the United States. Australia\u2019s political leadership generally believes it can have constructive trade relations with China while maintaining its close strategic alliance relationship with the United States. However, shifts in the geostrategic dynamics of Asia are leading regional states such as Australia to hedge, increasingly with other Asian states, against the relative decline of U.S. engagement in the region. This is one interpretation of what is behind the recent strengthening of ties between Australia and Japan, India, and other states in Asia. Australia also plays a key role in promoting regional stability in Southeast Asia and the Southwest Pacific, and has led peacekeeping efforts in the Asia-Pacific, including in Timor-Leste and the Solomon Islands.\nUnder the former Liberal Party government of John Howard, Australia invoked the ANZUS treaty to offer assistance to the United States after the attacks of September 11, 2001, in which 22 Australians were among those killed. Australia was one of the first countries to commit troops to U.S. military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. Terrorist attacks on Australians in Indonesia in the 2000s also led Australia to share many of the United States\u2019 concerns in the struggle against Islamist militancy in Southeast Asia and beyond. Australia is part of the global coalition to defeat the Islamic State (IS). There are continuing concerns in Australia about domestic Islamist terrorist threats, including from \u201clone wolf\u201d attacks. Dozens of Australian citizens are believed to have gone to the Middle East to fight for the Islamic State.\nAustralia\u2019s trade relationship with China has been a key source of economic growth. However, there is an ongoing debate in Australia on where the Australian economy is headed, as China\u2019s economic growth slows. Australia, which has free trade agreements with the United States, South Korea, Japan, and China, was part of the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement, from which President Trump withdrew the United States in January 2017.\nAustralia currently has a coalition government led by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull of the Liberal Party. The domestic political scene in Australia has been dominated by controversy surrounding the dual-citizenship of Members of Parliament (MPs) and the gay marriage plebescite. Two Liberal-National Coalition Members, former Deputy Prime Minister and National Party Leader Barnaby Joyce and Liberal MP John Alexander, have had to resign due to the dual-citizenship controversy. They seek reelection in by-elections in December 2017. In November 2017, approximately 62% of Australians responding to a mail-in survey voted \u201cYes\u201d in support of same-sex marriage, which opens the way for implementing legislation in parliament.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/RL33010", "sha1": "d09b69b16656dca1d2160d07efd482c52a6e47da", "filename": "files/20171120_RL33010_d09b69b16656dca1d2160d07efd482c52a6e47da.html", "images": { "/products/Getimages/?directory=RL/html/RL33010_files&id=/0.png": "files/20171120_RL33010_images_4b149db921d10b4cfef33353c43d434008310423.png" } }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/RL33010", "sha1": "7fd0de8e1e1c02cb6ef934b671a9d826bda97ec1", "filename": "files/20171120_RL33010_7fd0de8e1e1c02cb6ef934b671a9d826bda97ec1.pdf", "images": {} } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4911, "name": "East Asia & Pacific" } ] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 461424, "date": "2017-05-18", "retrieved": "2017-05-24T16:18:20.264172", "title": "Australia: Background and U.S. Relations", "summary": "The Commonwealth of Australia and the United States enjoy a very close alliance relationship. Australia shares many cultural traditions and values with the United States and has been a treaty ally since the signing of the Australia-New Zealand-United States (ANZUS) Treaty in 1951. Australia made major contributions to the allied cause in the First and Second World Wars, and the conflicts in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Australia is also a close intelligence partner through the \u201cFive Eyes\u201d group of nations. U.S. Marines are conducting rotational deployments in northern Australia. This initiative and others demonstrate the closeness of the relationship. A traditional cornerstone of Australia\u2019s strategic outlook is the view that the United States is Australia\u2019s most important strategic partner and is a key source of stability in the Asia-Pacific region. Australian decision-makers have also believed that Australia does not have to choose between the United States and China. Some former Australian political leaders and former government officials, as well as media reports, have expressed concern about where Australia\u2019s relationship with the United States may be headed under the Trump Administration.\nWhile Australia has a complex array of international relations, its geopolitical context is to a large extent defined by its economic relationship with China and its strategic relationship with the United States. Australia\u2019s political leadership believes it can have constructive trade relations with China while maintaining its close strategic alliance relationship with the United States. However, shifts in the geostrategic dynamics of Asia are leading regional states such as Australia to hedge, increasingly with other Asian states, against the relative decline of U.S. engagement in the region. This is one interpretation of what is behind the recent strengthening of ties between Australia and Japan and between Australia and other regional powers in Asia. Australia also plays a key role in promoting regional stability in Southeast Asia and the Southwest Pacific, and has led peacekeeping efforts in the Asia-Pacific, including in Timor-Leste and the Solomon Islands.\nUnder the former Liberal Party government of John Howard, Australia invoked the ANZUS treaty to offer assistance to the United States after the attacks of September 11, 2001, in which 22 Australians were among those killed. Australia was one of the first countries to commit troops to U.S. military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. Terrorist attacks on Australians in Indonesia in the 2000s also led Australia to share many of the United States\u2019 concerns in the struggle against Islamist militancy in Southeast Asia and beyond. Australia is part of the global coalition to defeat the Islamic State (IS). There are continuing concerns in Australia about domestic Islamist terrorist threats, including from \u201clone wolf\u201d attacks. Dozens of Australian citizens are believed to have gone to fight for the Islamic State.\nAustralia\u2019s trade relationship with China has been a key source of economic growth. However, there is an ongoing debate in Australia on where the Australian economy is headed as the \u201cChina boom\u201d subsides. While profits from iron ore and other mineral exports to China may slow, other emerging exports, including exports of Australian liquefied natural gas (LNG) potentially to a more diversified set of export partners may provide a continuing source of growth. Australia, which has signed free trade agreements with the United States, South Korea, Japan, and China, is a signatory of the 12-nation Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/RL33010", "sha1": "7646d17d296bb059deee6e557646bbc0f1d8fdc7", "filename": "files/20170518_RL33010_7646d17d296bb059deee6e557646bbc0f1d8fdc7.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/RL33010", "sha1": "17a3fec0841a64f11d184441a5d97c6ab11e28a0", "filename": "files/20170518_RL33010_17a3fec0841a64f11d184441a5d97c6ab11e28a0.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4911, "name": "East Asia & Pacific" } ] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 448010, "date": "2015-12-14", "retrieved": "2016-04-06T17:44:14.685303", "title": "Australia: Background and U.S. Relations", "summary": "The Commonwealth of Australia and the United States enjoy a very close alliance relationship. Australia shares many cultural traditions and values with the United States and has been a treaty ally since the signing of the Australia-New Zealand-United States (ANZUS) Treaty in 1951. Australia made major contributions to the allied cause in the First and Second World Wars, and the conflicts in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan. During his visit to Australia in 2011, President Obama announced the rotational stationing of U.S. Marines in northern Australia. This initiative and others, which are viewed as part of the United States\u2019 rebalance to Asia strategy, have continued to develop through the annual Australia-U.S. Ministerial (AUSMIN) process. A cornerstone of Australia\u2019s strategic outlook, which is shared by the leading political parties, is the view that the United States is Australia\u2019s most important strategic partner and is a key source of stability in the Asia-Pacific region. The ANZUS alliance also remains very popular with the Australian public.\nWhile Australia has a complex array of relations with many state and non-state actors, its geopolitical context is to a large extent defined by its economic relationship with China and its strategic relationship with the United States. Australia\u2019s political leadership believes it does not have to choose between the two and that it can have constructive trade relations with China while maintaining its close strategic alliance relationship with the United States. However, a fundamental shift in the geostrategic architecture of Asia may be underway as regional states may be hedging against the perceived relative decline of U.S. power in the region. This is one interpretation of what is behind the recent strengthening of ties between Australia and Japan and between other regional powers in Asia. Australia also plays a key role in promoting regional stability in Southeast Asia and the Southwest Pacific, and has led peacekeeping efforts in the Asia-Pacific, including in Timor-Leste and the Solomon Islands.\nUnder the former Liberal Party government of John Howard, Australia invoked the ANZUS treaty to offer assistance to the United States after the attacks of September 11, 2001, in which 22 Australians were among those killed. Australia was one of the first countries to commit troops to U.S. military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. Terrorist attacks on Australians in Indonesia in the 2000s also led Australia to share many of the United States\u2019 concerns in the struggle against Islamist militancy in Southeast Asia and beyond. Australia is part of the global coalition to defeat the Islamic State (IS). There are renewed concerns in Australia about domestic Islamist terrorist threats due to the resurgence of Islamist militancy and in light of recent attacks in Paris and San Bernardino. Dozens of Australians are believed to have gone to fight for the Islamic State.\nThe Australian economy has done relatively well when compared with other developed economies in recent years. Its economic growth rate has been approximately one third faster than that of the United States over the past 20 years. Australia\u2019s developing trade relationship with China has been a key source of growth. However, there is an ongoing debate in Australia on where the Australian economy is headed as commodity prices slide and the \u201cChina boom\u201d subsides. While profits from iron ore and other mineral exports to China may slow, other emerging exports including exports of Australian liquefied natural gas (LNG) potentially to a more diversified set of export partners may provide a continuing source of growth. Australia, which has signed free trade agreements with the United States, South Korea, Japan, and China, is a signatory of the 12-nation Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement that was concluded in October 2015. Despite criticism from some labor groups and economic interests, both major Australian political parties support the TPP arrangement.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/RL33010", "sha1": "f05a5b769d996c5f134d89478fd7bb057bfc5898", "filename": "files/20151214_RL33010_f05a5b769d996c5f134d89478fd7bb057bfc5898.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/RL33010", "sha1": "f17ae1d13127d2a6d88c521906b13d815f9d1cc2", "filename": "files/20151214_RL33010_f17ae1d13127d2a6d88c521906b13d815f9d1cc2.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 278, "name": "China, Taiwan, and Mongolia" }, { "source": "IBCList", "id": 473, "name": "Southeast Asia, Australasia, and the Pacific Islands" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc228014/", "id": "RL33010_2013Aug15", "date": "2013-08-15", "retrieved": "2013-11-05T18:07:05", "title": "Australia: Background and U.S. Relations", "summary": "This report gives an overview of the relationship between the Commonwealth of Australia and the United States including the close alliance under the ANZUS treaty. The report includes information about the structure of the Australian government, political and domestic issues, economics, defense policies and security ties, counterterrorism, environmentalism, affairs in Asia and the Pacific Southwest, and an analysis of other specific events.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20130815_RL33010_4504ec63e1d689f14ed83dae8f351bfa0f363e89.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20130815_RL33010_4504ec63e1d689f14ed83dae8f351bfa0f363e89.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Foreign policy", "name": "Foreign policy" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Foreign relations -- Australia -- U.S.", "name": "Foreign relations -- Australia -- U.S." }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Foreign relations -- U.S. -- Australia", "name": "Foreign relations -- U.S. -- Australia" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc87298/", "id": "RL33010_2012Jan13", "date": "2012-01-13", "retrieved": "2012-07-03T07:51:21", "title": "Australia: Background and U.S. Relations", "summary": "This report gives an overview of the relationship between the Commonwealth of Australia and the United States including the close alliance under the ANZUS treaty. The report includes information about the structure of the Australian government, political and domestic issues, economics, defense policies and security ties, counterterrorism, environmentalism, affairs in Asia and the Pacific Southwest, and an analysis of other specific events.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20120113_RL33010_c33899886dc9f977e83653ebe9013b9d926a93fb.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20120113_RL33010_c33899886dc9f977e83653ebe9013b9d926a93fb.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Foreign policy", "name": "Foreign policy" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Foreign relations - Australia - U.S.", "name": "Foreign relations - Australia - U.S." }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Foreign relations - U.S. - Australia", "name": "Foreign relations - U.S. - Australia" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc795389/", "id": "RL33010_2008Aug08", "date": "2008-08-08", "retrieved": "2016-01-13T14:26:20", "title": "Australia: Background and U.S. Relations", "summary": "This report gives an overview of the relationship between the Commonwealth of Australia and the United States including the close alliance under the ANZUS treaty. The report includes information about the structure of the Australian government, political and domestic issues, economics, defense policies and security ties, counterterrorism, environmentalism, affairs in Asia and the Pacific Southwest, and an analysis of other specific events.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20080808_RL33010_2959abf467d7261d5afee43dd76fe47cbe139c62.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20080808_RL33010_2959abf467d7261d5afee43dd76fe47cbe139c62.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Foreign policy", "name": "Foreign policy" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Foreign relations -- Australia -- U.S.", "name": "Foreign relations -- Australia -- U.S." }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Foreign relations -- U.S. -- Australia", "name": "Foreign relations -- U.S. -- Australia" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc814463/", "id": "RL33010_2007Aug08", "date": "2007-08-08", "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26", "title": "Australia: Background and U.S. Relations", "summary": null, "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20070808_RL33010_4eb1225eb8751a6f2bdbd19f77f9717a2296c3b7.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20070808_RL33010_4eb1225eb8751a6f2bdbd19f77f9717a2296c3b7.html" } ], "topics": [] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metacrs9001/", "id": "RL33010 2006-04-20", "date": "2006-04-20", "retrieved": "2006-07-03T15:06:41", "title": "Australia: Background and U.S. Relations", "summary": "The Commonwealth of Australia and the United States are close allies under the ANZUS treaty. Australia evoked the treaty to offer assistance to the United States after the attacks of September 11, 2001, in which 22 Australians were among the dead. Australia was one of the first countries to commit troops to U.S. military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. The Howard Government\u2019s strong commitment to the United States in Afghanistan and Iraq and the recently negotiated bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Australia and the United States have strengthened what were already close ties between the two long-term allies.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20060420_RL33010_be0d72da91031b59156dbcc90f41cb3d76da40b4.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20060420_RL33010_be0d72da91031b59156dbcc90f41cb3d76da40b4.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Foreign policy", "name": "Foreign policy" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Foreign relations - Australia - U.S.", "name": "Foreign relations - Australia - U.S." }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Foreign relations - U.S. - Australia", "name": "Foreign relations - U.S. - Australia" } ] } ], "topics": [ "Asian Affairs", "Economic Policy", "Foreign Affairs", "Intelligence and National Security", "National Defense" ] }