Diplomatic history of Australia the democratic world. In a country gripped by this fear, the government's defence policy was dominated by the idea of "forward defence", in which Australia would seek to prevent the Communist "thrust into South-East Asia". The committal of troops to the Vietnam War was viewed as an attempt by the Menzies Government to strengthen the alliance with the USA following Great Britain's withdrawal "east of Suez". With his arrival in October 1966, Lyndon Baines Johnson became the first US President to visit Australia. The visit came in the light of increasing international criticism over the war in Vietnam. The majority
Australia–Russia relations Western Australian Premier to visit Russia, when he headed a trade delegation for a five-day trip to the country to court more Russian investment in the state. In 2008, Australian-Russian bilateral trade exceeded US$1 billion for the first time. Russia imported US$1.029 billion worth of goods and services from Australia in 2008, while its exports to Australia were valued at US$82 million, bringing the total to US$1.111 billion. According to the Russian Federal Customs Service, trade with Australia accounted for 0.2% of all Russian foreign trade in 2008. Australia–Russia relations Australia–Russia relations () date back to 1807, when the Russian