Punching above military weight

One of the least reported developments of Prime Minister Tony Abbott's visit to China this month may also be one of the most significant: Australia's ambitions to work in military harmony with the region's biggest and fastest-growing power.

Abbott took this even a step further, raising the possibility of acting as a broker between China and the United States to develop joint exercises involving the three countries in Australia's north, where a rotating US Marine task force already operates.

Australia wants to build on its existing high-level and exchanges to broaden co-operation in a bid to ease tensions between the great powers. "We will have exchanges and exercises between our respective militaries and also multilateral exercises," he said.

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