US Consul General Mike Kleine visits NT, opens up on why Territory is important to superpower
The US Consul General to the NT has claimed major investments in new projects such as Suncable and Santos’ $4.7bn gas project have given the Territory an “unmistakeable vibrancy”.
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THE Territory remains a core part of the United States’ geopolitical strategy despite a change of power in Washington, according to the US Consul General to the NT, Mike Kleine.
Now visiting the NT for the sixth time since being appointed in 2018, Mr Kleine has spent the last three weeks holidaying with his family in Litchfield and meeting with government leaders and arriving US marines.
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The senior diplomat, who loves Darwin for its melting pot of cultures, also said Darwin was a changed place since his last visit before COVID-19.
“It feels like a different city than what I left a year and a half ago,” he said.
“There’s a vibrancy that is unmistakeable.”
Sitting in the neatly trimmed gardens of NT Parliament House, he said Darwin reminded him of Anchorage, Alaska.
Weather aside, both are capital cities of their respective state/territory, both have significant migrant communities and strong links to indigenous heritage, and both are strategically important for the US’ global interests.
Pointing out the US is Australia’s biggest investor, Mr Kleine was upbeat about the future of the NT’s economy.
“All the good news that seems to be on the horizon for more investment coming in, whether it's the (Santos) offshore oilfield … the Suncable project seems to be going great, the data also seems to be going really really well,” he said.
When asked about the lingering concerns over the lease of the Darwin Port to a Chinese-owned company, Mr Kleine said that was a matter for the Commonwealth and Territory governments.
But having also been deployed in Laos, Vietnam, and South Korea, the national security expert said the US isn’t going anywhere regardless of a change of leadership in Washington.
“The importance of the alliance and the strength of the alliance has been rock solid since I was appointed under the previous administration, and from all indications it will remain so in the future,” Mr Kleine said.
“Australia is critically important as one of our five treaty allies in Asia,” he said.
“The marine rotational force here in Darwin is a key piece of it.”
Deployments continued despite the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak, a fact Mr Kleine said was a critical economic boost to local businesses.
Among his ongoing projects is his 37 Degrees Latitude podcast, currently in its second season, which encourages Australian businesses to invest in the United States.
Mr Kleine, who flies back to Melbourne today, said this visit gave his family the perfect opportunity to visit Litchfield and Katherine.
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“I felt like I was in an NT travel commercial where my wife and I are sitting on this boulder, and my kids are diving under this waterfall looking for these little shrimp that are in the rock pools,” he said.
“That was just perfect.”
Originally published as US Consul General Mike Kleine visits NT, opens up on why Territory is important to superpower
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