After Britain, it may be Australia’s turn to seek membership of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) —a move, if it materialises, will signal a revolt by core members against the United States, which is discouraging the participation of its allies in the China-led initiative.
The Australian newspaper quoted Tony Abbot, Australia’s Prime Minister as saying: “I note that the U.K. has indicated an intention to sign up for the negotiations, the New Zealanders before Christmas signed up for the negotiations, the Singaporeans likewise, the Indians likewise.” He added that Canberra was “looking very carefully at this and we’ll make a decision in the next week or so”.
On Monday, Australian Foreign Minister, Julie Bishop said negotiations with China were "very positive." The Australians said Beijing had accepted many of its conditions for joining a new China-led lender.
Britain had set the precedent of breaking ranks from Washington on Thursday, when it declared it was entering negotiations for joining the $50 billion bank, before the March 31 deadline expired.
It was apparent that the British announcement had piqued the U.S., its chief ally in the Atlantic alliance. "We are wary about a trend toward constant accommodation of China, which is not the best way to engage a rising power," the unnamed official told the Financial Times .
In January, President Barak Obama signalled during his State of the Union Address that China was seeking extension of its geopolitical influence based on its financial heft, when he said that “China wants to write the rules for the world’s fastest-growing region”.
Analysts say that Washington is worried that the AIIB would emerge as a rival to the Western-dominated financial institutions — the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, which have been accused in the developing world of leveraging their financial clout for political gains.
The AIIB could well turn out to be an institution for building infrastructure along the Eurasian corridor in tune with the Beijing-initiated Silk Road Economic Belt (SREB). China, along with India is also at the forefront of the establishment of a BRICS Bank, which is unlikely to tie up its lending to the Global South on non-economic considerations.
China would also want South Korea, another economic heavyweight to sign up to the new institution, but so far, Seoul has been sending ambivalent signals. Financial Times quoted a South Korean Foreign Ministry official as saying that Seoul is engaged in talks with both China and the U.S. regarding its participation in the bank.
Japan, another key U.S. ally in the Asia-Pacific, appears unenthusiastic about participation in the AIIB, which could well be perceived as a rival to the Manila-based ADB, which Tokyo dominates. “We are cautious about participating,” said Fumio Kishida, Foreign Minister, at a briefing last week.
