Thirty years ago, Australia’s strategic outlook was characterised by a comfortable bifurcation: economic growth was tied to Asia, while sovereign security rested on the traditional alliance with the US. The period from the mid-1990s through the 2000s marked an era of rapid regional integration.
The rise of China as an industrial powerhouse fuelled an unprecedented Australian resources boom. Iron ore, coal, liquefied natural gas, and a growing international education sector drove domestic prosperity, culminating in the signing of the landmark China-Australia Free Trade Agreement in 2015.