Foreign Affairs Outlook for 2021

Political Affairs in Oceania and Korea-Oceania Relations

PARK Jae Jeok

Associate Professor, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies

jjpark@hufs.ac.kr

English Abstract

Australia suffered a double distress in 2020 as its relations with China, its largest trading partner, reached their worst ever while putting all its energy into the quarantine of the COVID-19. The possibility of recovering its bilateral relations seems meager at least until the first half of 2021. However, Australian business and financial circles are calling for an exit strategy to restore relations with China. It is expected that much of the bilateral relations will be affected by the future U.S.-China relations, which will unfold after the inauguration of the Biden administration in January 2021. If the confrontation between Australia and China continues, the international community is likely to perceive the security cooperation between South Korea and Australia as strengthening of the U.S.-led security network.