U.S-Australia Cooperation and U.S.’s Asia Pacific Rebalancing Strategy

　　Abstract:The U.S. developed its rebalancing strategy basing on its appraisal of the current state of affairs in the Asia Pacific region.Theoretically, traditional competitive power balance strategy emphasizes material interests, while cooperative power balance strategy inserts ideas into the matrix.The U.S.rebalancing strategy towards the Asia Pacific region could be seen as a typical case of the latter. And, Australia’s position within the context of this strategy is critical.This article discusses and analyzes U.S.-Australia cooperation within the context of the U.S.rebalancing towards the Asia Pacific region, addressing the practical direction of such cooperation.It finds that both the “Australian-New American Security Alliance” and the “Australian-American Ministerial Meeting” have both been strengthened.It is because there exists a remarkable similarity in the strategic logics of both sides.The United States thinks highly of the geo-strategic value of Australia’s position in the region and Australia seeks to consolidate its regional position with the help of U.S.power. At the same time, it is necessary to point out that this type of cooperation will not definitely create regional security dilemmas like Cold War.In the future the developing trends of the bilateral relations still need to be further observed.

　　About the Author: Chen Hongqiao is a Post-Doctoral Fellow in the School of International Studies at Peking University