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This paper provides a critical overview of Australian, Chinese, and American perspectives on trilateralism, with a detailed discussion of Australian debates on the matter. Its aim is to trace the evolution of the changing discourse on the rise of China, examine major debates in Australia, and provide both an intellectual background and an overview for this special issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ongoing reassessments in U.S. strategy in the Asia-Pacific have coincided with a major growth in Sino-Australian economic relations. The Australian-American alliance could be increasingly tested if U.S. policy planners are unsuccessful in generating more sensitive and proactive alliance security postures to ensure Australian support for key U.S. interests in the Asia-Pacific. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In responding to China's rise, the best strategy for Australia involves a combination of accommodation and "soft balancing.'' The viability of this strategy is related to the extent to which U.S.-China relations are cooperative or conflictual. Recent Australian governments have been successful in implementing this preferred strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]