Former prime minister Kevin Rudd's departure three months ago left a diplomatic black hole in one of the world's most dynamic countries. For the past three years, Rudd made Australia a household name - a key reference in coffee-table political discussions throughout the region.
But suddenly nobody seems to comment now on Australia and its regional vision and ambition. Without Rudd, Australian diplomacy seems rudderless.
With the recent poll's outcome, sensible Australian politicians would certainly not dare to venture faraway from home turf as Rudd did. After all, he showed that a grand diplomatic blueprint from Australia, while widely debated and praised in some quarters, had many undesirable side effects. The worst was the weakening of the government's home-based support. Rudd was sidelined because his party feared damage caused by his continued leadership in a general election. Throughout the past three decades, since former prime minister Bob Hawke, successive Australian governments adopted distinctive diplomatic platforms towards the region but none of them suffered as much as Rudd's premiership.
Truth be told, the Australian elite and public are familiar with the diplomatic engagements with the West, especially with the US and on major issues such as climate change, international peace and security and nonproliferation. They are often excited and sometimes perplexed when Canberra tries to woo Asia, which is now synonymous with rising China. It used to be Japan, the US alliance and the world's No. 2 economic power. In this case, the pu-tong-hua speaking Rudd did not help ease the anxiety. Moreover, the Asian diaspora in Australia is not keen to push for cosier ties with their former home countries either.
For the time being, Australia has temporarily dropped off the radar screen just as a new strategic environment is shaping up in the region - ironically similar to what Rudd envisaged both in scope and purpose. First off, Australia along with Russia, will be inducted into the Asia-Europe Meeting (Asem) in Brussels, Belgium early next month when the European and Asean leaders meet for their eighth summit.
What can Australia now bring to Asem? Australia, Asia's fourth largest economy, is a leading member of G20 and Rudd's contributions to the previous meetings in London and Pittsburgh were enormous. Canberra can be a bridge between Asia and Europe. Whoever succeeds Rudd must display the same level of competency. If the Labor Party retains the power, there is a possibility that Rudd could again join the new government as foreign minister in order to retain Australia's diplomatic leverage.
Regionally, thanks to Rudd's proposal for an Asia Pacific community (APc) and its relentless pursuit, Asean leaders were obliged to do some soul-searching among themselves. Exactly two years later, they responded to the initiative with an expanded East Asia Summit (EAS), the premier leaders' forum found by Asean in 2005. The US and Russia will now join EAS next year. India is becoming a member of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders' meeting in Yokohama in November. The first Asean-Australia summit will take place in Hanoi during the Asean Summit at the end of October. All the missing links that Rudd alluded to are coming together.
Therefore, it is imperative the incoming government continues to pursue what Rudd left behind, perhaps in part. The idea of creating a strong and comprehensive community in Asia is still valid and worth pursuing through different channels.
For instance, evolving medium powers including Japan, India, South Korea,and New Zealand are pivotal for a power balancing act with heavy-weight powers like the US and Russia. After former prime minister Yukio Hatoyama's resignation, Japan also has suffered from a similar diplomatic vacuum. Tokyo is currently contemplating on new regional strategies that would intensify cooperation in science and technologies as well as security areas.
Unlike other powers in the region, Australia has to craft carefully its diplomatic role to befit its haunting dual identities - an Asian nation or a Western country in Asia. Canberra has to constantly manifest its foreign policy independence, which serves its own national interest and the region. However, the intimate Australia-US relations during the John Howard government reinforced the wide-spread regional perception that any diplomatic move, involving security and economic realm, from Down Under is done on behalf of the US. Some Asean members regarded the APc with such an attitude, which turned out to be untrue.
In the early 1990s Canberra's role in the peace process in Cambodia and ideas of economic integration in Asia Pacific were good policies - they came about through the country's strong commitment, perseverance and close consultation. In addition, prior to the accession of the Asean Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (1976) in 2005, Australia had to fight extreme prejudice and discrimination within Asean ranks. Finally, it had overcome the hurdle and demonstrate its willingness to follow a regional code of conduct and norms.
As debates continued on Rudd's new regional architecture, the Asean leaders were hopeful they would be able to work together with Australia in engaging China. For the past two years, their close consultation on the future of Asia yielded a strong message that together they could constructively handle the complexities of China's rise. That helped to explain why Asean did not reject the APc outright.
Apart from Australia, no other country in the region, or perhaps in the world, has such extensive and cordial relations with China and the US simultaneously. Australia is unique with its ability to position itself within the US-China rivalry and shield from any collateral damage.
That is the type of tip-toe balance that Asean needs. The grouping prefers to engage the two powers and does not want to choose sides. It wants to be friends to all powers - a win-win proposition.