US Vice President’s Sydney visit: Snipers, road closures and heavy security
HELICOPTERS, snipers, road closures and a heavy police presence were just some of the security measures to protect the US Vice President in Sydney.
SNIPERS on top of buildings, helicopters hovering low, US Secret Service agents on foot, and a heavy presence of police lining the streets, parks and businesses.
Sydney today appeared everything but the laid-back place it has built its glittering reputation on.
The city was in lockdown Saturday as United States Vice President Mike Pence became the first senior member of the Trump administration to officially visit Australia.
Mr Pence is on the final leg of his Asia-Pacific tour to reaffirm the US and Australia as allies and focus on regional security concerns — including growing tensions with North Korea — economic development and trade.
But it was the theatre of the vice presidential visit that arguably attracted the most attention from onlookers.
NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Mark Murdoch told reporters the US Secret Service and NSW Police had worked together for months to plan the event ahead of Mr Pence’s arrival in Sydney on Friday night.
On Saturday, the Harbour Bridge and some tunnels were momentarily closed as the Vice President and his motorcade — made up of about 15 vehicles including police — moved from one engagement to the next.
Mr Pence had “the road to himself” as the motorcade travelled via a “secure road corridor” or “enclosed road” with sirens blaring from the front and back of the convoy.
Road closures and clearways caused some traffic disruptions on Saturday — and will remain in place until 10am Monday. Armed US Secret Service agents patrolled the areas Mr Pence visited. And snipers with their guns on full display were spotted on top of city buildings as helicopters hovered above the CBD.
Extra police resources were deployed with uniformed officers out in force on city streets, Hyde Park and at the Intercontinental Hotel, where Mr Pence is staying with his wife and daughters. The area was blocked off with black tarp and was heavily patrolled by authorities.
Mr Pence spoke to media and business leaders at the hotel this afternoon. He echoed a speech he had made to Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull earlier in the day.
The motorcade for US Vice President Mike Pence on his Sydney visit #VPinAUS #mikepence @VP pic.twitter.com/yBhGdMPuoi
— Megan Palin (@Megan_Palin) April 22, 2017
Helicopters circling Sydney in conjunction with a heavy police and security presence as we await US VP Mike Pence @newscomauHQ #VPinAUS pic.twitter.com/eORqELVcXz
— Megan Palin (@Megan_Palin) April 22, 2017
NORTH KOREA DOMINATES PENCE-TURNBULL TALKS
The nuclear threat from North Korea dominated Malcolm Turnbull’s official talks with US Vice President Mike Pence.
The prime minister told reporters in Sydney the “reckless and dangerous regime puts the peace and stability of our region at risk”.
Mr Turnbull said China has a leverage to influence North Korea. “The eyes of the world are on Beijing,” Mr Turnbull said.
North Korea’s latest missile test fizzled last weekend, but it conducted two nuclear test explosions and 24 ballistic missile tests last year.
Mr Pence was full of praise for Mr Turnbull for publicly calling on China to do more to pressure North Korea to dump its nuclear warheads and ballistic missile program. “While all options are on the table, let me assure you the United States will continue to work closely with Australia, our other allies in the region and China to bring economic and diplomatic pressure to bear on the regime,” Mr Pence said, adding that a strike group would be in the Sea of Japan within days.
As the PM & I reaffirmed, under @POTUS' leadership, the U.S & Australia will stand firm & stand strong in the face of North Korea #VPinAUS
— Vice President Pence (@VP) April 22, 2017
TRUMP WILL HONOUR REFUGEE DEAL WITH AUSTRALIA
Mr Pence said the US will honour a refugee resettlement deal that Mr Trump once dubbed “dumb.”
Under the deal, the US will take up to 1,250 refugees that Australia houses in detention camps on the Pacific island nations of Nauru and Papua New Guinea.
President Donald Trump blasted Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull over the settlement plan during their now-notorious phone call shortly after his inauguration in January.
Mr Pence told reporters on Saturday he had reassured Mr Turnbull that the US will honour the agreement struck by the Obama administration.
“It doesn’t mean we admire the agreement,” he told reporters in Sydney on Saturday.
The historic U.S.-Australia alliance is a beacon that shines throughout the Asia-Pacific and the wider world. #VPinAUS pic.twitter.com/bt5HFJIRoy
— Vice President Pence (@VP) April 22, 2017
PENCE ON TRADE BETWEEN THE US AND AUSTRALIA
During their bilateral meeting on Saturday, Mr Turnbull defended Mr Trump’s free trade credentials despite America’s withdrawal from the controversial trans-Pacific Partnership deal.
Mr Trump’s decision to pull out of the TPP effectively killed off the 12 country trade pact.
Other countries involved in the TPP were Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, New Zealand, Singapore and Vietnam.
Mr Turnbull played down Mr Trump’s protectionist rhetoric and said it was the president’s “sovereign right and solemn obligation” to decide whether deals were in America’s interest.
“Each nation is committed to protecting its economic interest first and foremost,” he told reporters in Sydney, saying the US government had to make its own judgments.
“President Trump is an international businessman so he can hardly be described as somebody who is unused to the benefits of international trade and commerce, he understands it very well.” Mr Pence said the TPP was a “thing of the past” for the US.
But he said the US would look for opportunities to expand trade on a bilateral basis.
He praised the US-Australia free trade agreement as a model deal.
Great to welcome @VP Pence and his family to Australia this morning. pic.twitter.com/KFjE8S5toG
— Malcolm Turnbull (@TurnbullMalcolm) April 22, 2017
Earlier Saturday, Mr Pence was greeted in Sydney by Australian Governor-General Peter Cosgrove. Mr Cosgrove said the relationship is “as strong today” as it was since “the first time we saw each other on the battlefield in 1919.”
Mr Cosgrove said the alliance that started during World War I “started an unbreakable relationship.”
“We’ve been with you every step of the way,” he added.
The affection Australia and the US usually share for each other is rooted in decades of co-operation on defense, intelligence and trade. Australia has fought alongside the US in every major conflict since World War I, and is one of the largest contributors to the US-led military campaign in Iraq and Syria. The country is also part of the “Five Eyes” intelligence-sharing program with the US, along with Canada, Britain and New Zealand.
Mr Pence and his family are scheduled to tour the Sydney Opera House, a local zoo and other landmarks on Sunday. They will leave Australia for Hawaii on Monday.
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