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The building of collaboration with countries like Thailand is central to Australia’s long-term strategic vision.
In recent months, the Australia government has been incredibly active on the diplomatic front, from new security agreements with multiple Pacific Island countries to visits to Australia by the Japanese, Indian, New Zealand, and Vietnamese leaders. This week Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul made his way to Australia.
For both Canberra and Bangkok, there is a desire to build more substantive regional relationships as a hedge against both a more unreliable Washington and a more assertive Beijing – as well as buttress against the rippling effects of the competition between the two superpowers. The Australia-Thailand relationship is therefore less about alliance-building than about building greater resilience through diversifying partnerships, and creating a latticework of cooperation within the Indo-Pacific region.
The two prime ministers signed a series of agreements during Anutin’s visit that sought to give this strategy practical substance. These included deepening cooperation on transnational crime, including online scams, cybercrime, money laundering, human trafficking, and narcotics. The purpose of these agreements is to enable greater information sharing and coordination between the two countries’ law enforcement agencies.
