Trump Or Harris: Australia Wants More Of The Same
Date
11/5/2024 7:06:19 PM
(MENAFN- Asia Times)
This article was originally published by Pacific Forum . It is republished with permission.
The standard Political bromide that Australia will always work with the president chosen by the American people has the great benefit of being true.
Since the ANZUS treaty was signed in 1951, the alliance has endured under 14 US presidents and 16 Australian prime ministers. One of those prime ministers, Kevin Rudd, now Australia's ambassador in Washington, draws on that history to buttress the bromide:“We actually
don't have a view
about partisan preferences within this country. That's a choice for you all to sort out.”
Yet as Canberra gazes toward the close of the US polls, the bromide has different Republican and Democrat colorings.
Australia thinks Kamala Harris and Donald Trump both offer versions of“more of the same.” The meaning of“same” is where Canberra's alliance confidence takes on contrasting hues. Canberra would
expect
more of the same from a Harris administration and
hope
for more of the same from another Trump administration.
The Harris“same” is a continuation of what the Biden presidency delivered – a substantial development of the alliance. The Trump“same” is based on the success of the bilateral relationship during his presidency from 2017 to 2020, despite a dramatic early alarum .
Under either Harris or Trump, Australia wants to entrench what's been achieved by Joe Biden. Broadening and deepening a formal alliance that is in its eighth decade is quite an achievement, especially given the central place the US holds in Australian strategy. But that alliance build is what Biden's term achieved in:
the AUKUS
nuclear submarine
agreement;
the evolution of the Quad grouping of Australia, India, Japan and the US;
America's step-up in the South Pacific, as Washington declared a“renewed partnership with the Pacific Islands ,” responding to Australia's view that China's challenge creates“a
state of permanent contest
in the Pacific”;
and the shift of US military muscle onto Australian soil in a new era of alliance integration that will see more US troops, planes and ships in Australia and the creation of a US-Australia combined intelligence center in Canberra.
The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (“Quad”) is one embodiment of Australia's more-of-the-same ambition. The significance of the grouping has been boosted by Biden, who held six Quad summits, four of them in person. The first Quad ministerial meetings happened during Trump's presidency, however, so Trump has some foundational ownership. Indications from the Trump camp are that he would maintain the Quad. A new piece of strategic architecture in Asia has the benefit of both Democrat and Republican roots.
Quad official language avoids any mention of China. If the meeting is the message, however, then it's all about China and Beijing's aggressive probing in Asia.
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