PM’s visits to US, China key to nation’s security interests

As the world approaches strategic tipping points in the Middle East and Ukraine, and acute dangers in the Asia-Pacific, Australia’s engagement with world leaders has rarely mattered as much. Anthony Albanese flew to Washington on Sunday for the first state visit by an Australian prime minister since Donald Trump hosted Scott Morrison in 2019. In a fortnight, Mr Albanese will be our first prime minister to visit Beijing since Malcolm Turnbull in 2016. Both encounters will provide vital opportunities to advance Australia’s security and economic interests.

In addition to talks with Joe Biden on climate change and critical minerals, the focus of Mr Albanese’s three days in Washington will be the US President’s effort to persuade congress to approve $3.4bn to bolster US submarine production to help the promised sales of nuclear-powered subs to Australia under the AUKUS pact. Mr Albanese will directly lobby congress members to pass the funding bill. Funding for the submarine program is part of Mr Biden’s request for $US105bn from congress he announced last week, in a televised address from the Oval Office, to support Israel against Hamas and Ukraine against the Russian invasion. While Hamas and Russia represent different threats, both want to annihilate a neighbouring democracy, Mr Biden said. Both wars have created a critical inflection point for the future of US leadership and democracies. And Australia supports that agenda.

For that reason, Mr Albanese could be asked for more help from Australia in relation to both Ukraine and Israel, former Australian ambassador to the US Joe Hockey told The Australian. “Anthony Albanese will be at the coalface of discussions about the future of the Middle East – all the ceremony and warm embrace that everyone sees there obscures the important and many serious discussions,” Mr Hockey said.

While the Israel crisis could distract attention, Mr Albanese’s aim will be to remain focused on the Indo-Pacific region. He will arrive in Washington on Monday at a critical time in US domestic politics. Congress is in its third week of gridlock and unable to function normally because infighting among Republicans, the majority party in the House of Representatives, has left it without a Speaker since October 5. For that reason, he is unlikely to have the opportunity to address a joint sitting of congress. But the opportunity to lobby congress members to advance the submarine funding is every bit as important.

The lead-up to Mr Albanese’s visit to Beijing has gone well. China’s release of Australian journalist Cheng Lei from detention and the review and possible lifting of crippling 200 per cent tariffs on Australian wine are welcome. The breakthrough on wine was possibly assisted by the Albanese government’s decision to allow Chinese company Landbridge to continue operating the Port of Darwin, a decision that will worry many in Australia’s security and defence community.

China’s releasing Ms Cheng and progress on lifting trade sanctions are also a reminder of China’s coercive behaviour in recent years, as is the ongoing detention of Australian writer and democracy activist Dr Yang Hengjun, whose health is failing. Ms Cheng’s treatment in jail, which she wrote about in The Weekend Australian, underlines how incompatible and inhumane China’s approach to human rights and the treatment of prisoners is compared with Australia’s. As Mr Albanese prepares to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping and attend a China International Import Expo in Shanghai, his stated view of the bilateral relationship – “co-operate where we can, disagree where we must, and engage in our national interest” – should be useful. US-China relations remain tense and Mr Albanese’s visit to the US is an opportunity to ensure he is fully briefed on US concerns in the Asia-Pacific before he visits Beijing.