Oz - part of Asia or not ?

[??]

Do Aussies feel like they are part of Asia ?

[Me goldfish]

They should, 'cos they are.

Previous Oz administrations did well on this score.

The current one has set relations back a long time -- well, a decade at least.

[amoebate]

That's a challenging question, bet the Aussies are not too sure either.

[This message has been edited by amoebate (edited 29-03-2005).]

[T2K]

Australia is a continent, like Asia.  Your question is like asking if Asians feel they are a part of Africa, or if Europeans feel they are part of Asia.

[charlieb]

Don't be stupid.

Continents are arbitrary definitions. I believe what the OP is asking is, given the current economic and political climate in the current world, do Aussies feel compelled to be part of Asia. If an analogy had to be drawn, it'd be more akin to asking the brits if they feel they are part of Europe or not.

Definition of continent:

adj 1: having control over urination and defecation [ant: incontinent] 2: abstaining from sexual intercourse; "celibate priests" [syn: celibate]

[DINKSINSINGAPORE]

geographicaly, yes, culturally.... depends on who you ask!

in my opinion, yes.  I mean, Australia has a higher proportion of Asian migrants as a percentage of population than Singapore, and that's not even including third or fourth generation 'asians' (or people of mixed parentage).

"At 30 June 2002, People born in the three Asian regions (South-East Asia, North-East Asia and South and Central Asia) together comprised 5.7% of Australia's population" (source: abs.gov.au)

where as in singapore it's less than 2% of the population is classified as 'others' - and that's asuming all others are caucasians (source: http://www.singstat.gov.sg)

So given that, i'd say Australia is far more Asian than many of it neighbours give it credit for.

[T2K]

Continent
Pronunciation: 'kän-t&n-&nt, 'känt-n&nt
Function: noun
4 a : one of the six or seven great divisions of land on the globe

Yes, very arbitrary.

[charlieb]

"...six or seven great divisions..."

So, six or seven???

And hence, arbitrary. In other words, "man-made", not scientific.

Check this out:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continent

And DINKSINSINGAPORE, you're not making sense.

By the way, it's interesting that so far no Australian has expressed interest in the topic...

[??]

Hmmmm... very interesting indeed !

[T2K]

Six inhabited, seven total including Antarctica.

Culturally, Australia is obviously not part of Asia, though it has an Asian minority.

Geographically, it is obviously not part of Asia, though it is a neighbor to Asia.

A case could be made that it is economically a part of Asia, since the nearest markets and sources of raw materials are nearby in Asia.

Geography 101...

[Joseph27]

If you live in one of Australia's bigger cities and have a fairly open outlook you are possibly going to think that Aus is part of Asia - but drive an hour from the city and ask and the answer will be very different.  

T2K is right insofar as Aus being a stand alone continent - but geographically we are close - and trade wise Asian countries are our biggest accounts.

[??]

Ah, I was beginning to think all the Aussies were busy having a mad vegemite shopping spree !

[DINKSINSINGAPORE]

did i make no sense? hmm... what i was trying to point out is that Australia has had a significant asian prescence in it's population for a fairly large chunk of it's history.  It's also more racially mixed than this little island  

Geography wise, i think Australia is part of Asia, at least the north.  I mean, if West Papua is part of Asia....

It all boils down to opinion and where to draw the line, heck, i've met people from mainland china who think India isn't part of Asia (and many Indians who share that sentiment).  In the financial world, how often do we see "Asia ex-Japan"

I think many Australians (including the former Keating government) see our future being in the region, we can't up and move the country towards europe or the US, now can we!?!?

Now the real question... will Asia accept a 'caucasian' nation into it's midst?

[charlieb]

T2K, don't believe everything your president....I mean, your teacher, told you.

Spend a couple of minutes going through the website I mentioned previously and you'll have a clearer picture.

[T2K]

I don't believe everything I was taught, but I believe what I was taught a lot more than I believe stupid internet posts by people I don't know.

I did look at that site you posted.  Every continental model it has (7,6,5,4) lists Australia as a separate continent and thus not part of Asia.