Wong’s trip to Washington may suggest that everything is business as usual. It isn’t

In the highly stage-managed world of leaders’ meetings, it’s often difficult to discern anything meaningful. The politicians smile, shake hands, pose for the cameras and disappear behind closed doors, sometimes without uttering a single word to the journalists who have assembled there in the hope of crumbs.

Later, they may issue a statement or communique in lofty language that affirms a shared commitment to some mutually agreeable cause or promises a renewed focus on certain universal priorities.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio shake hands before a meeting at the State Department in Washington.Credit: AP

The Quad foreign ministers’ meeting on Tuesday, Washington time, followed this mould. There were occasional nods to the fact that other countries “may do things differently at times”, in Foreign Minister Penny Wong’s words – but overall, you would think everything between these four nations was business-as-usual.

Except it isn’t. Indeed, there are some pretty major problems.

Australia is sweating on Donald Trump’s administration on a number of fronts, not least of all the AUKUS pact, which is currently under review to see if it puts “America First”.

Tied up in that, the US wants Canberra to boost defence spending. (It has made the same demand of Tokyo, and The Financial Times reported that, in protest, Japan cancelled a defence meeting planned alongside the Quad.)

And Australia has secured no “deal” to reduce or eliminate Trump’s tariffs, despite the Albanese government making the case that the US already enjoys a trade surplus and a free trade agreement with Australia.

If any commitments were given to Wong in Washington, she wasn’t divulging them publicly. Indeed, while she said the importance of AUKUS was well understood, she gave no indication of confidence that it would survive the administration’s reappraisal.

Rubio may not be in a position to give such assurances. It’s in Trump’s hands, along with those of his defence secretary and the under secretary leading the review, who is an AUKUS sceptic. But that is a precarious position, even if Wong scoffs at that suggestion.

Australia’s move to acquire Virginia-class submarines is under threat with the US’s AUKUS review.Credit: AP

Likewise, on trade. Trump is running low on trade “deals” ahead of his notional July 9 deadline, and Australia should be an easy one to put away. But it does not appear to be high on Trump’s priority list.

The same might be said for his meeting with Anthony Albanese, which was cut from the G7 when Trump left early, and now looks like it will have to wait for the sidelines of some other global gathering.

While Albanese likes to note the pair have spoken three times by phone, it’s clear that Trump is a face-to-face kind of guy who wants to look you in the eye.

This is an administration that has made its intentions plain. America First is about prioritising US interests and discarding the interests of others. It is about exploiting America’s size and might, even against allies, as Trump explicitly said just days ago when he warned: “Economically, we have such power over Canada.”

When Wong and Rubio fronted the cameras ahead of their bilateral meeting, they smiled and shook hands, but said nothing – as planned. Journalists were told no questions would be taken, and Rubio did not answer them when they were inevitably shouted anyway.

A State Department statement on the summit contained only one sentence on each bilateral meeting, and for Australia, it mentioned co-operating on Indo-Pacific security and building critical mineral supply chains. No mention of AUKUS or other matters.

It may well be that these issues all work out favourably for Australia. But for now, the awkward silences and omissions speak loudly.

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