Australia And South Asia: The Crystallisation Of A Relationship

Book excerpt: Southeast Asia has become a battleground of power-politics today where even the so-called “Middle Powers” have their vital stakes. Australia’s participation in the Southeast Asian drama has naturally aroused the interest of commentators and policy-makers in Asia and abroad. Australia is Asia’s nearest “white” neighbour and 70% of its diplomatic activity is concerned with Asian affairs. Dr. Ravindra Varma’s analysis of Australia’s involvement in Southeast Asia since the Second World War forms the first full-length study by an Asian writer of Australia’s Asian policies. The book has grown out of the author’s research in India, Australia and a number of Southeast Asian countries, such as, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, South Vietnam, The Philippines and Indonesia. His discussions with officials, politicians, diplomats and statesmen of various nations in the area have helped the book to achieve a perspective which is intimate and detached at the same time. The book is indispensable to students of international politics in general and specialists on South and Southeast Asia in particular.