In a paper in Canberra last Aug. 31, Singapore professor Kishore Mahbubani made a thought-provoking argument: "By the logic of geography, the continent of Australia should have been populated with Asians. Instead, by an accident of history, Australia has been predominantly populated with Westerners." But "the logic of cultural identity cannot" indefinitely "trump hard geopolitical considerations."

Australia's historical and cultural links to Europe and America enhance its value to Asian countries; propinquity to Asia increases its usefulness to Western countries. Multicultural diversity at home underpins the breadth and depth of these relationships abroad. It gives Australia European and Asian language skills, cross-cultural expertise and international family and social connections.

Asia has always been central to the definition of Australian identity. For most of Australia's history as a European settler society, Asia as the "other" was the point of reference for defining Australia as the "self." Its historical memories, cultural antecedents and the ideas on which its society was constructed were all European. But Australia was not part of Europe, and its distinctive identity could only be interpreted with reference to the geographical dislocation from Europe on the edge of Asia.