Donald Trump fills White House staff: A hawkish Trump will help keep the US engaged in the Indo-Pacific
Australia will have a staunch ally on China in Donald Trump’s new administration if senator Marco Rubio is appointed as secretary of state.
He is one of a series of high-profile foreign policy hawks tipped to join the new Trump White House in what would be an important win for Australia.
They would mean the incoming president is surrounded by a team tough on China, hostile to Iran and fiercely pro-Israel.
Rubio believes Australia must join forces with the US to head off what he says is a global push by Beijing to undermine and infiltrate Western democracies.
“While Australia has been on the frontlines in this fight, Chinese influence operations and ambitions are global in scope, including here in the US,’’ Rubio told The Australian in Washington in 2018.
“Like-minded allies must work together to protect the deeply held values and institutions of democratic societies.”
Rubio was a strong and outspoken supporter of Australia during its years-long confrontation with China over foreign interference laws, the ban of Huawei and the origins of Covid investigation.
The appointment of a seasoned foreign policy expert like Senator Rubio would be good news for Australia, given the isolationist tendencies of Trump.
Although it is Trump who will ultimately call the shots, it’s critical for Australia that he has powerful voices in the White House and in his cabinet who are specific advocates for a continued strong presence of US forces in the Indo-Pacific and around the world.
Congressman Michael Waltz, a retired special forces officer who is also a vocal critic of China and a supporter of a globally activist America, is tipped to become Trump’s national security adviser.
These Trump appointments, along with that of pro-Israeli congresswoman Elise Stefanik as US ambassador to the UN, will also see the new president surrounded by staunchly pro-Israeli voices.
Stefanik is best known for her fierce grilling of US university presidents over anti-Semitism, while Rubio has also been unwavering in his support for Israel, saying that Hamas was “100 per cent to blame” for the high civilian death toll in Gaza.
Rubio is known for his tough stance against Iran and would no doubt push for a tougher US position against Tehran after Joe Biden’s failed efforts to restore the flawed Obama-era Iran nuclear deal.
However, both Rubio and Waltz are sceptical of the never-ending nature of Ukraine war and have signalled that they believe – like Trump – that the war needs to be brought to a quick conclusion.
“At the end of the day, what we are funding here is a stalemate war and it needs to be brought to a conclusion,” Rubio said recently.
Trump has boasted that he could solve the Russia-Ukraine war in 24 hours, a boast that no one believes but one that signals his desire to find a settlement.
The worry for Australia and the West is that he finds a solution that cedes too much ground to Vladimir Putin and effectively rewards the Russian leader for his murderous invasion and aggressive war against his neighbour.
Overall, however, the foreign policy team that the incoming president appears to be assembling is one that will serve Australia’s interests well at a time of increasing global instability.
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