Julie Bishop has rejected Paul Keating's assessment that Australia has "no foreign policy", insisting our diplomatic sway in the Asia-Pacific has "never been greater".
The Foreign Minister hit back at stinging comments by the former Labor prime minister, who warned on Tuesday that Australia urgently needed a "nuanced" foreign policy capable of navigating the ongoing rise of China and the diminishing influence of the United States in Australia's region.
Mr Keating, who sits on the advisory board of the giant China Development Bank and has met with Chinese President Xi Jinping, said Australia should not "put all its chips" on its relationship with the US.
But in comments to Fairfax Media, Ms Bishop emphasised the government's commitment to the primacy of the US alliance, saying the world's biggest power continued to underpin Australia's position in Asia.
"Australia's influence and role in the Indo-Pacific has never been greater," Ms Bishop said, noting three free trade agreements signed by the Coalition with China, Japan and South Korea and the expansion of trade missions in Asia.
"With the American role even more valued now than it was a couple of decades ago, our special relationship with the US gives us an even greater standing and relevance in the region. We are balancing relationships between our largest strategic ally and our largest trading partner with deft diplomacy, consistency and pragmatism."
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull also responded to Mr Keating's dour assessment, defending Ms Bishop's performance.
"Our standing has been considerably enhanced by the extraordinary effectiveness of Julie Bishop as our foreign minister. We have had no finer foreign minister than Julie Bishop. Her advocacy and her energy has elevated our standing and our influence around the world."
Mr Turnbull also rejected the view that Australia's influence had waned since Mr Keating established the APEC leaders' meeting and former prime minister Kevin Rudd spearheaded the East Asia Summit.
He said next week's G20 in China was another example of Australia's influence.
"I am meeting with the twenty largest economies in the world – that puts Australia right at the top table in the global power debate," he said.
Mr Keating made his comments at the Australia - China Relations Institute at the University of Technology.
