Introduction
Honorable Kevin Rudd MP is one of the most famous former minister for foreign affairs in Australia. Rudd delivered one of the most outstanding speeches at the east summit held in Brookings institution Washington DC. Asia’s rise was having some profound implications for the global order and the management of regional and global economic and security. US’s entry into the summit was a major step in trying to tackle the various economic challenges as well as in the evolvement of regional architecture. Over time, Australia has been a key player in forging cooperation and deepening partnerships across the entire region. The renowned politicians had addressed the summit several times but on May 3, 2011 he made the most remarkable speech.
He unfolds his speech by recalling the people about the terrorist attack that had just taken place in America and warns the people of the repercussions that the attack had on the Americans life and the entire region at large. He seems to be so much interested on the economic issues of the region and the critical cooperation that has to exist so that the entire region can register meaningful economic development. Mr. Rudd previews the economic progress over the last few years, addresses Australian Interests, Global and regional engagement, The Asia Pacific region, Bilateral and regional engagement with China and The East Asia Summit.
In the global economy, Australia had travelled from boom, to boost and finally to uncertainty. Australia did not want to be pulled into the global depression. It worked so closely with the United States through the councils of the G20 so that they could prevent being catapult into the full depression. Australia was quite aware that it could only prevent itself from being drag into the crisis by establishing intimate relationships with other strong economies and US was among the forces that the entire world was out to reckon with. They closely worked with the French presidency of the council so as to deal with the macro economic challenges that were threatening the entire world. Top on their agendas was to address the issue of global fiscal imbalance and currency valuations. This was the only way to handle these issues since it would not be easy for any single nation to solve these problems yet several nations had a role to play in this (Bryant 2004). Free trade and regional stability were to be achieved through cooperation.
The region had been brought to their collective economic knees in the past few years. Rudd reveals that they are working so closely with financial stability board under the policy direction of the G20 so that they could achieve global financial regulatory reforms. Politically, some nations were politically unstable a factor that would negatively impact on the economy. Rudd wanted an Australia which will have a strong economy and where the interests of each individual are considered. He wanted Australia to be a leader in the economic arena. For this to be achieved, it had to ensure that lists neighboring states are economically and politically stable. This is why Australia decides to try and resolve the various conflicts that were taking place in the Arab world. The political instability in the Arab nations had caused the price of oil to skyrocket (Australia, & Australia 2000).
In responding to the various challenges, Australia engages with the United States, allies in Asia and Europe for it clearly knew that their interests and values are deeply at stake in such developments. Australia was aware that the economic prowess of a nation is affected by the condition in other countries. This is why they decide to allocate time and resources so that they could stabilize the various unstable economies. By so doing, Australia will benefit by the good cooperation that it will have created with other nations. By so doing, Australia will be able to achieve its commitment to multilateralism and bilateralism (Firth 2001).
Australia had national, regional and global interests being the 4th largest economy in in Asia and the 13th largest economy in the world. Australia is among the major suppliers of energy and raw materials that power the global economy. By ensuring a good regional cooperation and possible free trade, Australia would be able to continuously enjoy this status. Australia is also keen to protect its military prowess so that it could handle any terrorism threat or any force that threatens democracy (Firth 2001). Democracy was very essential to Rudd as he believed that democracy and economic strength had to go hand in hand (Millar 2001). It engages in humanitarian assistance in countries like Libya. It also engages with NATO in restoring peace in Pakistan. They also engage themselves in peace keeping missions in the Middle East. By ensuring stability in the various regions and nations, it seems that Australia is fully committed to achieve Rudd’s vision. It also participates in the formation of various agencies such as APEC and the ADMM+.
Australia and New Zealand concluded a free trade pact with ASEAN creating a combined free trade area of 623million people and a combined economy of 3.5million USD. Their foreign and security dialogue had also been largely elevated. Rudd clearly states that theirs is an activist foreign policy that reflects their interests and values that they express both regionally and globally. Transforming the region and the entire world into a better place to live in seems to be their sole aim. Australian economy was not left out. It therefore seems that the national, regional and global issues were so critical in informing Rudd’s vision for Australia and its foreign affairs policy.
The venue of the speech is the Brookings institution in Washington DC. The venue is significant to the positions that Rudd outlines. Coincidentally, Rudd’s speech and the various positions that he advocates for seem to be in line with the goals of Brookings. It has three major goals which are; strengthening American democracy, secure a more open, safe and prosperous international cooperation system and to foster economic and social security and welfare of the Americans. The institution helps policy makers to address critical issues related to democracy, security and prosperity.
The institution can therefore take Rudd’s speech, analyze it, and provide practical recommendations that can be used to further strengthen the Australian foreign policy and Rudd’s vision. In the summit, America a key player in ensuring world economic, social and political stability and therefore those in attendance might work upon Rudd’s message. By so doing, Rudd’s speech can be used to transform the world by simply executing what he and Australia stand for. It is for this reasons that Rudd’s speech have been termed as one of the greatest speeches ever made and it will be remembered by generations to come.
Bibliography
Australia, & Australia (2000). Government response to the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade report: Bougainville : the peace process and beyond. Canberra, A.C.T: s.n.
Australian Foreign Policy and the Asia Pacific Century, 3 May 2011, Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs. (n.d.). Retrieved June 27, 2013, from http://www.foreignminister.gov.au/speeches/2011/kr_sp_110503.html
Bryant, R. C. (2004). Crisis prevention and prosperity management for the world economy. Washington, D.C: Brookings Institution Press.
Firth, S. (2001). Australia in international politics: An introduction to Australian foreign policy. St. Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin.
Millar, T. B. (2001). Australia's foreign policy. Sydney: Angus and Robertson.
The Rise of Asia, International Cooperation and U.S. Foreign Policy | Brookings Institution. (n.d.). Retrieved June 28, 2013, from http://www.brookings.edu/events/2011/05/03-rudd
