Institute for Future Strategy – Economic Security Cluster
Qualitative Analysis Team’s 12-Country Report on Major Geopolitical States
“Australia’s Economic Security”

The Economic Security Cluster of the Institute for Future Strategy at Seoul National University organised a research team composed of former and current officials from Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to evaluate and compile reports on the economic security strategies of twelve key partner countries. This project aims to analyse each nation’s strengths, vulnerabilities, and their strategic connections with Korea.

This report examines the economic security challenges and strategic responses of Australia amid rapidly changing global circumstances. Australia faces the task of safeguarding its economic security amid intensifying U.S.–China strategic competition, global supply chain restructuring, energy transition and climate crisis, and growing geopolitical uncertainty in the Indo-Pacific region.

Although Australia maintains a close economic and trade relationship with China, it is simultaneously compelled to strengthen its security alliance with the United States, placing it in a dual and delicate position. In response, Australia has pursued a multifaceted strategy that includes:

• Diversifying supply chains for minerals and energy resources to ensure stable access,

• Strengthening key manufacturing sectors to bolster national industrial capacity,

• Advancing a green growth strategy through active climate change responses, and

• Enhancing multilateral cooperation across the Indo-Pacific region to improve economic resilience and stability.
  
  

Keywords:
Australia, economic security, U.S.–China competition, supply chain diversification, energy transition, manufacturing development, Indo-Pacific strategy