本文主旨在探索「五國防禦安排」此一多邊軍事同盟，在建立東南亞區域安全的 連結作用，以及澳洲以中級強國的身分，在維護此區域的軍事安全的過程中，所展現的連 結東西方的關鍵地位。 東南亞區域內由於缺乏集體安全組織，各國除藉由軍備現代化、經由「東南亞國家協會」討 論區域安全議題外，也運用雙邊或多邊軍事合作或多邊軍事盟約來確保國家安全。在此過程 中，「五國防禦安排」有著重大的連結作用，特別是藉著澳洲而與「澳紐美防禦協定」連結 ，以美國軍事力量作為軍事安全保障。　

　　　　　The Five Powers Defence Arrangement, the only multilateral military agreement in Southeast Asia, provides a framework in which the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) can cooperate militarily. It has become an increasingly active agreement in the 1980s, in response to the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia and the inexorable Soviet naval and air buildup at Cam Ranh Bay. Since China became a regional superpower in the 1990s, the FPDA has increased in influence, becoming the defence security umbrella in which U.S. forces, through ANZUS, provide ASEAN security confidence despite the U.S. withdraw from Southeast Asia. Australia, a middle-power state, plays a key role in Southeast Asian security. Despite the public claims by Australian Officials that Australia has no intention to organize a military agreement against China, China remains skeptical. The Southeast Asian nations thus need to engage China with such cooperative security mechanisms as confidence-building measures to decrease China's misunderstanding and misconceptions.