Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese departs for the U.S. this week, raising expectations of a first meeting with President Donald Trump, where the AUKUS defence partnership and China are likely to dominate talks between the security allies.
According to his office, Albanese departs on Saturday for the United Nations General Assembly in New York, where the prime minister said he will attend a reception hosted by Trump on Tuesday.
A bilateral meeting has not been announced, with Australian media outlets reporting a meeting "may" happen, cautious even after Trump said on Tuesday that Albanese would be coming for a visit to see him "very soon".
Executive director of the Lowy Institute think-tank, Michael Fullilove, said Australia's relationship with its principal security partner was "presently quite thin", because in the 10 months since Trump was elected, Albanese had not met him, and there was no U.S. ambassador to Australia.
"The main priority for Mr Albanese when he meets with President Trump will be to thicken up the relationship," he said.
Australia's former ambassador in Washington, Arthur Sinodinos, said King Charles had given AUKUS a "very strong plug" during Trump's UK visit, and it will be important for Albanese to get in-principle support directly from the president on the nuclear-powered submarine deal, to encourage investment.
In a dinner speech King Charles said AUKUS was a "vital collaboration" between Britain, the U.S. and Australia.
Designed to counter China's rapid naval build-up in the Indo-Pacific, AUKUS is under review by the Pentagon.
"The question is what new strings are attached to AUKUS," said Sinodinos, chairman of the United States Studies Centre.
GAZA, SOCIAL MEDIA BAN
At the U.N. General Assembly, Albanese will support Palestinian statehood, and speak at an event on Australia's law to ban social media for children aged under 16. Both positions are at odds with Washington's, with Trump broadly critical of foreign laws he says are unfair to U.S. tech companies.
Common ground includes the view that Western countries need to break China's dominance over the supply of critical minerals, Sinodinos said.
More than 20 Australian critical minerals companies met with Trump Administration officials this week to explore areas for collaboration.
On trade, Australia will urge Trump to adhere to a free trade agreement where a surplus runs in Washington's favour, officials said. They noted the 10% baseline tariff imposed on Australia was the best deal any country had struck.
Under pressure from Washington to increase defence spending, Australia on Saturday announced an extra A$12 billion ($8 billion) to upgrade a shipyard in Western Australia for AUKUS submarine maintenance.
Australia's ties in the militarily strategic Pacific Islands are a major interest for the U.S., Australian and U.S. officials have said.
The region's biggest aid donor, Australia faced a setback when security treaties in Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea that would have limited China's influence were left unsigned during Albanese's visits to each country this month.
China's embassy in Papua New Guinea wrote in a Facebook post on Friday it opposed exclusive treaties that "restrict or prevent a sovereign country from cooperating with a third party".
"Other players are seeking to take advantage of any perception of lack of interest, particularly by the U.S., and Australia and New Zealand in our backyard," said Sinodinos.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Israel on Wednesday (25 February) for a two-day visit, becoming the first Indian premier to address the...
The U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Wednesday (25 February) on more than 30 individuals, entities and "shadow fleet" vessels it said ena...
Georgia is facing intensifying diplomatic pressure as Western partners urge stronger alignment against Russia, while leaders in Tbilisi warn that furt...
Thousands of dead grebes have been found along Azerbaijan’s Caspian coastline, prompting authorities to expand inspections as early laboratory tests...
The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem says it will provide on-site passport and consular services to settlers based in the West Bank on Friday 27 February. Th...
Australia’s Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, was temporarily evacuated from The Lodge to safety on Tuesday night after an alleged bomb threat linked to upcoming performances in Australia by Shen Yun, a U.S.-based classical Chinese dance and music company banned in China.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said his government would not assist Australian families of suspected Islamic State (IS) militants return home from a Syrian camp.
A man accused of carrying out Australia’s deadliest mass shooting in nearly three decades appeared briefly in a Sydney court on Monday (16 February), facing terrorism and murder charges over the 14 December attack on a Jewish Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach that left 15 people dead.
Australia will spend A$3.9bn to build a new shipyard for AUKUS nuclear-powered submarines, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced, marking a major step in the trilateral defence pact with the U.S. and Britain.
The Taliban in Kabul has rejected Russian claims that more than 23,000 militants from around 20 international terror groups are currently operating within Afghanistan.
Four years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, the war is no longer defined by shock but by scale.
Seven people were killed after gunmen ambushed a police patrol in Kohat, a district in Pakistan’s north-west near the Afghan border, on Tuesday, in an attack that comes amid rising militant violence and heightened tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Four members of Syria’s Internal Security Forces were killed and two others injured on Monday (23 February) in an attack by the ISIS (Daesh) terrorist group targeting a checkpoint west of Raqqa in northeastern Syria, the Interior Ministry said.
Four years into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the war can be measured not only in lives and territory, but in money. In Part One, the war’s cost was measured in casualties and kilometres. In Part Two, it is measured in billions of dollars.
The U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Wednesday (25 February) on more than 30 individuals, entities and "shadow fleet" vessels it said enabled Iran's illicit petroleum sales, ballistic missiles and weapons production.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest State of the Union address set out a second-term agenda built on economic protectionism, military strength and a hard line on Iran, signalling a strategy that pairs diplomatic engagement with firm red lines, Assoc. Prof. Orkhan Valiyev told AnewZ Daybreak.
Switzerland said on Wednesday (25 February) it would make a one-off payment of 50,000 Swiss francs ($56,000) to each severely injured survivor and to the bereaved families of those killed in the New Year bar fire at the ski resort of Crans-Montana.
Russia has claimed its forces have taken control of a village in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv’s new Flamingo missiles successfully struck targets deep inside Russian territory, underscoring the continuing intensity of the conflict.
South Korea and the United States will conduct joint military drills, known as Freedom Shield, from 9 to 19 March, military officials from both countries announced on Wednesday.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment