Well that's the strategy isn't it? And its been debated in national newspapers for the last few years. Now it's an almost daily discussion. The odd political grub has been exposed too- taking foreign coin!
China is Australia's biggest trading partner. Though the US is the biggest investor in Australia. The US-Australian alliance is goes back to WW2 and the failure of Britain at Singapore. It's a tight alliance that has become tighter with the quasi-stationing of American troops on Australian soil. And this from a Labor government. People forget this. Our interests in the Pacific have been forged for a long time. Drawing closer is the wrong expression- its the quiet honouring of an emerging threat.
The Brits will be back soon too.