The West or Asia? King Charles' visit spotlights Australia's dilemma

The royal visit raises the 'history v geography' question again at a time when US-China rivalry piles growing pressure on the focus of Australia's commitment.

- Jonathan Pearlman

King Charles' trip to Australia in October - his first since assuming the British monarchy in 2022 - presented Prime Minister Anthony Albanese with a difficult choice.

It coincided with President Prabowo Subianto's inauguration in Indonesia, a country that Mr Albanese has described as Australia's "closest of partners".

Attending the event would be "a great occasion to cement once again the friendship between our two nations", he had earlier told Mr Prabowo when the latter visited Canberra in August.

And so, when the dates clashed, Mr Albanese had to prioritise.

It was a difficult decision that highlighted a deeper, more far-reaching and perennial dilemma facing Australia: whether to bolster its historic ties with Britain and the West, or set a new course aimed at securing its future in Asia.

In the end, Mr Albanese stayed put for the royal visit.

It was the first Indonesian presidential inauguration in decades not attended by an Australian prime minister.

Instead, Australia was represented by Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles, who is also Defence Minister and has struck up a good relationship with Mr Prabowo, who served as Indonesia's immediate past defence minister.

Admittedly, Mr Albanese's failure to attend the inauguration is unlikely to dent ties with Jakarta.