Australia, China: Selling Uranium to Buy Membership in East Asia

Australia has pressed its plan to expand uranium mining operations aggressively during August. Plowing over local concerns and issues of limits on federal powers, Canberra wants to double its already considerable uranium-export capacity by tapping a single new customer: China. Australia's decision to supply the fuel for Beijing's coming nuclear expansion fits into a more comprehensive political picture that includes a free trade agreement, the debate over the West's arms embargo to China, Australia's place in Asia and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and the domestic and international politics of nuclear material.