Abstract
The issues of refugees has been a regional challenges that block the potential of Australia''s role in the Asia-Pacific. This article aims to discuss how Australian refugee policy influences its role in the Asia-Pacific Region. Therefore, this article will examine the background of Australia''s foreign policy towards the Asia-Pacific region from a historical perspective, how Australia made its policy regarding refugees, and discuss some of the latest issues to illustrate how this policy affects Australia''s role in the Asia-Pacific, namely: the agreement with Cambodia (2014), the Manus Island crisis (2017) and Australia''s response to the Rohingya crisis (2017). The author argues that the dynamics of domestic politics in Australia affect Australia's policy towards refugees. In the final analysis, Australia has been trying to limit refugees due to the domestic fear in Australia towards refugees, which has an impact on Australian policy and its role in the Asia-Pacific region.
Highlights
Contemporary, Australia is still debating its position in the international community
For most of the 20th century Australians were afraid of Asia, this was based on the view of those who saw Australia as a European country surrounded by unknown countries (Leibo, 2012)
After the end of the war, Australia's defense policy and foreign policy were increasingly influenced by the United States
Summary
Contemporary, Australia is still debating its position in the international community. One case that showed Australia's policy towards asylum seekers in the AsiaPacific region occurred recently in one of the provinces of Papua New Guinea (PNG) named Manus Island This case is still ongoing, there are serious implications for Australia's role in the Asia-Pacific in the future. Until now displaced refugees on Manus Island do not have enough supply of drinking water, food, medical / psychiatric support or other important facilities (Maguire & Monaghan, 2017) This case has severely damaged Australia's image as a Human Rights leader in the Asia-Pacific and recently the Australian Government received serious criticism from the UN Human Rights Committee with "chronic non-compliance (Doherty, 2017). Most Rohingya refugees in PNG think the same, they do not feel the difference with what is in Myanmar, they both feel prisoners and are tortured
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