Australia and Canada clearly have a lot of historical commonalities. With respect to Southeast Asia, the obvious difference comes from the geographical proximity of Australia, which I think has led to a much more consistent engagement by Australia. After all, Indonesia is Australia's neighbour. As you know, it's right on its doorstep.
The relationship has not always been that smooth. Relations between some of the ASEAN countries and Australia have been fraught. I think they're considerably better now. Australia has a huge investment because of its geographical proximity.
The other factor is the security issue. Australia's defence relationship with the U.S. is different from Canada's. It has led to this AUKUS arrangement with the U.S. and the U.K. That has not been particularly well received by ASEAN. On the other hand, one could perhaps see from an Australian strategic perspective that they feel kind of isolated and alone, and maybe this kind of an arrangement is necessary for them. It may not be as necessary in the same way for Canada.
