The state visit by President Benigno Aquino 3rd to Australia and New Zealand this week comes at a most opportune time.

 For too long, the Philippines and the Filipino people have looked upon the two nations down under as poor second cousins to the United States. This, despite Australia and New Zealand being geographically closer to our country and both offering greater opportunities for Filipinos seeking employment or business opportunities abroad.

Australia, in particular, is steadily assuming a leader’s role in the Asia-Pacific region. It is strong not only economically, but also militarily.

Australia’s military prowess
Australia’s growing role in the region gained prominence again some years ago when East Timor became an independent nation. Australian forces under the United Nations flag guaranteed the continued life of the new state that emerged after being occupied by the Indonesian military from 1975 to 1999. In 2006, the United Nations sent in security forces, mainly Australian troops, to restore order when partisan fighting forced about 15 percent of the population or 155,000 people to seek safety in refugee centers.

Australia’s display of military prowess as primary peacekeeper in East Timor was not the first. For Australia has been militarily very much involved since World War II in the defense of the Allied Powers’ Pacific and Southeast Asian allies and interests. On the eve of the US-Philippine surrender to victorious Japanese Imperial forces, President Manuel Quezon and the Philippine Commonwealth military’s chief, Douglas MacArthur, and other Philippine officials took refuge in Australia on their way to the United States.

Australia was involved in a big way in the Vietnam War. What began as a small commitment of 30 men in 1962 grew to as many as 7,672 Australians deployed in then South Vietnam.

Earlier, Australia was also a major player in the Korean War, from the time the Australian government committed troops to fight alongside US, Filipino, British and of course South Korean troops against the Soviet- and Communist China- supported North Korean military. Australians of the 3rd Battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment had a base in Japan and were deployed to the Korean front.

Then, Australia became an important member of the USA’s “coalition of the willing” organized by the 1st Bush’s administration for the 2003 invasion of Iraq and the liberation of Kuwait from the Iraqi invaders. Apart from America, three countries—out of 48 states (including the Philippines) in the “coalition of the willing”—contributed fighting men to the invasion: Britain, Poland and Australia.

Later, 37 other countries, including the Philippines, sent some soldiers too Iraq too.

World’s 12th largest economy
As the world’s 12th largest economy, Australia is a wealthy state that offers a world of trade and investment possibilities to its neighbors. And because its population of some 23 million occupies a little more than 7.6 million square kilometers of land, there is vast room for growth. It can still be considered a “land of opportunity” which the US was for the longest time, until its economy suffered serious problems in the last few years.

More importantly, Australia has been working hard to establish its own Asian-Pacific identity by fostering closer ties with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).

Australia along with New Zealand and the United Kingdom has a defense agreement with Malaysia and Singapore. Known as the Five Power Defense Arrangements, the Philippines should seriously consider seeking membership into this arrangement.

While its military may not yet be as potent as that of China, its armed might cannot be easily dismissed. Its annual military expenditure is the 13th largest in the world. This alone makes the Commonwealth of Australia an ideal ally for the Philippines and its admittedly weak military, which has had to face with little more than brave talk the saber rattling of the Chinese military over Panatag Shoal.

It may be said that Filipinos have discovered Australia quite recently, but have achieved a lot of catching up in recent years. Today, among the largest immigrant groups to Australia are those from the United Kingdom, New Zealand, China, India, Italy, Vietnam and the Philippines. There are an estimated 200,000 Filipino migrants in Australia, with a large number being health care professionals.

President Aquino’s visit to Australia and New Zealand is expected to produce a number of business agreements. More importantly, it should bring this country closer to its nearby neighbor. Fortunately, diplomatic relations between the two countries have always been friendly. Mr. Aquino’s state visit should serve as a reminder that the Philippines should take a long, hard look at a country that could well be the next economic (and military) superpower in this part of the world.