Foreign Policy Instruments
Name the THREE foreign policy instruments identified in the VCE Politics study design.
Aid, trade and diplomacy.
Define the term 'national interest'.
The goals and objectives a state pursues to benefit itself typically security, economic prosperity, regional and international standing.
China's expansive claim to the South China Sea is marked on maps by this line.
The nine-dash line.
The BRI was launched in this year, by this leader.
2013, by President Xi Jinping.
This principle was meant to guarantee Hong Kong's autonomy after the 1997 handover.
'One country, two systems.'
Gifting or loaning these animals to foreign zoos is a famous example of Chinese public diplomacy.
Giant pandas, 'panda diplomacy', a soft power tool used to build goodwill and signal warming (or cooling) relations.
Name TWO of China's key national interests studied in this unit.
diverse, I will decide
In 2016, this body ruled against China's claims in a case brought by this country.
The Permanent Court of Arbitration (in The Hague) ruled in favour of the Philippines China rejected the ruling.
Name the TWO components of the BRI.
The Silk Road Economic Belt (overland routes through Central Asia/Europe) and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road (sea routes through the Indo-Pacific).
In 2022, China signed a security pact with this Pacific Island nation, alarming Australia and the US.
Solomon Islands.
Chinese aid to developing states is typically delivered in this form, rather than as grants.
Concessional (low-interest) loans, often tied to Chinese contractors and infrastructure projects.
Aircraft carriers in the South China Sea vs. Confucius Institutes and the Beijing Winter Olympics which types of power do these represent?
Hard power (military/coercive capability) vs. soft power (attraction through culture, values and institutions).
Name ONE reef or feature in the Spratly Islands that China has built into a militarised artificial island.
Fiery Cross Reef, Mischief Reef or Subi Reef equipped with runways, radar and missile systems.
Give ONE example of a BRI infrastructure project in the Indo-Pacific region.
Many
In June 2020, Beijing imposed this law on Hong Kong, criminalising secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion.
The National Security Law (NSL).
In 2020, China placed tariffs and restrictions on Australian barley, wine, coal and lobster. What is this use of trade as a foreign policy instrument called?
Economic (trade) coercion, punishing a state economically to pressure it politically, after Australia called for a COVID-19 origins inquiry.
Explain how China's pursuit of territorial integrity can UNDERMINE another of its national interests, with an example.
Assertiveness in the South China Sea (island militarisation, rejecting the 2016 PCA ruling) damages China's international standing pushing regional states toward the US, the Quad and AUKUS.
What are FONOPs, and which state primarily conducts them in the South China Sea?
Freedom of Navigation Operations, the United States sails warships through contested waters to challenge China's claims and assert international law (UNCLOS).
Explain TWO ways the BRI advances China's economic national interest.
Any two of: exports surplus industrial capacity (steel, construction); secures trade and energy routes; opens new markets for Chinese firms; internationalises the yuan; develops China's poorer western provinces.
Describe ONE way other states responded to the National Security Law, and what this reveals about the limits of intervention.
the UK offered BN(O) visa pathways, the US sanctioned officials, several states suspended extradition treaties, yet none reversed the law, showing sovereignty shields China's 'internal affairs' from meaningful external intervention.
Critics use this term for lending that leaves states unable to repay, citing Sri Lanka's Hambantota Port. Name the term AND what happened at Hambantota.
'Debt-trap diplomacy', Sri Lanka, unable to service its loans, leased Hambantota Port to a Chinese state-owned company for 99 years in 2017.
"Wolf warrior diplomacy" arguably damages the very national interest it's meant to serve. Explain what wolf warrior diplomacy is and evaluate this claim with an example.
Wolf warrior diplomacy is the combative, nationalistic style adopted by Chinese diplomats from around 2019, aggressively defending China and attacking critics, often on social media. It's meant to project strength and boost international standing (and play well domestically), but it frequently backfires: Zhao Lijian's 2020 doctored tweet about Australian soldiers inflamed relations rather than pressuring Canberra, and polling across the region showed perceptions of China worsening, undermining the soft power and standing it was supposed to project. Strong answers should weigh the domestic audience benefit against the international cost.
Roughly what share of global trade passes through the South China Sea, and why does this make control of it a core Chinese national interest?
Around one-third of global shipping (roughly US$3–5 trillion annually). It carries China's energy imports and exports, so control serves economic security and strategic depth including a buffer against US naval power.
Name ONE initiative launched by rival powers to counter the BRI's influence in the region.
E.g. the G7's Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (formerly Build Back Better World), the Blue Dot Network, the Quad's infrastructure agenda, or Australia's Pacific Step-up.
In 2019, Solomon Islands and Kiribati switched diplomatic recognition. From whom, to whom and which Chinese national interest does this 'chequebook diplomacy' serve?
They switched recognition from Taiwan to the People's Republic of China. It serves territorial integrity/sovereignty isolating Taiwan diplomatically to advance the One China principle and expands China's influence in the Pacific.