Keeping the infrastructure development pipeline flowing in Asia is crucial the continuation of high economic growth and Australia has more at stake in this than most countries given our export exposure to Asia is amongst the highest in the world.

Recalcitrant

So far, Australia has taken a recalcitrant approach to this huge geopolitical challenge. It missed out on a vice president's slot on the AIIB by being tardy about joining, it has been equivocal about the BRI due to concerns about what China is really doing and earlier this year International Development minister Concetta Fierravanti-Wells made a scattergun attack on China's development push into the Pacific.

The ASEAN initiative is a much smarter approach by actually drawing on Australia's expertise in infrastructure finance and structuring and its experience working within the many levels of Asian economic architecture.

Some Asian academics at last week's ASEAN-Australia Dialogue said the Australian government should be working to help ASEAN countries design better infrastructure projects rather than trying to encourage them to be wary of Chinese money. They were particularly concerned about achieving greater connectivity within Southeast Asia from Chinese funded ports, road and rail projects.

Australia and other like-minded nations are mulling an alternative to China's One Belt, One Road strategy. The map shows (in yellow) the new maritime route and (in red) the land connections. AFR

Australia has an institutional advantage in pursuing this new approach because it won the location of the G20 Global Infrastructure Hub in Sydney in 2014. But the G20Hub has also struggled to deal with the arrival of the BRI on the Asian economic scene since then and scarcely mentions it in its reports.

The size and scope of the BRI remains unclear but a recent BHP study put a US$1.3 trillion valuation on 400 projects out to around 2023 in 68 countries led by the power sector.

Abe has creatively driven a practical response to the BRI which will have appeal in the region, and now Australia has quietly signalled it is on board.

The big question will be where's the money coming from because Australia has wound back infrastructure spending in its aid budget in favour of more focus on governance and capacity building.

Greg Earl is editor of Asia Briefing published by Asia Society Australia.