美澳同盟是美国于二战后在亚太地区构建的“轮辐军事同盟体系”的“双轴”之一，也是美国维护其在亚太地区霸权体系与秩序的“南锚”。通过与美国结盟，澳大利亚如愿以偿地令美国担负起自己的安全义务，实现了跻身“中等强国”的百年梦想，并获得了丰厚的地缘经济、政治和战略利益。美澳同盟的演变表明美澳两国的同盟关系并非主要基于两国文化、历史和价值观的相似性，而更多的是出于对政治、经济和安全利益的考量。随着我国综合国力、国防现代化和地缘政治影响力等“硬”、“软”力量的不断上升，亚太地区的权力架构正在发生历史性嬗变。这推动了澳大利亚政府从冷战后对美国的“一边倒”转而在中美间奉行平衡策略，以确保其长远的经济、政治和安全利益。美澳同盟在21世纪第一个十年结束后已经演变成为亚太地区，乃至印太地区安全架构中最重要的变量。把握其实质，洞悉其发展方向，有利于我国趋利避害，维护印太地区的持久和平与稳定。
The US-Australia alliance that was formulated in the wake of WWⅡ serves as one of the two axes of the US “hub-spoke” system and the southern “anchor” of US hegemonic system in the Asia-Pacific. By aligning with the US，Australia has secured economic，political and strategic interest and shifted its security responsibility to the US. The evolution of US-Australia alliance demonstrates that this alliance is more based on interest than shared culture，history and value. The US-dominated power architecture in the Asia-Pacific is experiencing a historic transformation due to China’s rise in “hard” and “soft” power，which propels Australia to shift its foreign strategy from “leaning to the US” to seeking a balance between China and the US to ensure its long-term interest. The American-Australian alliance has become one of the most significant variables of security in Indo-Pacific. It is in the regional interest of an enduring peace and stability to have a command of its essence and direction.
