Anthony Albanese signs up to Joe Biden’s US-Asia alliance

Anthony Albanese will sign ­Australia up to a new US-led Asia-Pacific economic bloc aimed at countering Chinese regional dominance, as he meets Quad allies in Tokyo.

Penny Wong and Anthony Albanese before flying out of Canberra for Japan on Monday. Picture: Getty Images

Anthony Albanese will sign ­Australia up to a new US-led Asia-Pacific economic bloc aimed at countering Chinese regional dominance, as he meets Quad allies in Tokyo amid heightened US-China tensions over Taiwan.

Australia will join the US, India, Japan and key regional partners in the 13-member economic alliance, aimed at establishing preferential trading rules outside China’s orbit in the world’s fastest-growing economic region.

Just hours after being sworn in as Prime Minister, Mr Albanese flew to Tokyo to attend Tuesday’s Quad leaders’ summit where he will reassure counterparts that Australia under his leadership will maintain a tough stance on China.

The meeting comes a day after Joe Biden warned Beijing was “flirting with danger” in relation to Taiwan, and made an unambiguous commitment to defend the territory against Chinese invasion.

Anthony Albanese speaks to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson as he flies to Tokyo on Monday.

At a joint press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Tokyo on Monday, the US President warned that Washington would intervene militarily against any Chinese attempt to take Taiwan by force, abandoning US “strategic ambiguity” on its ­potential role in a war over the island for the second time in eight months.

“That’s the commitment we made,” Mr Biden said. “We agreed with the One China policy, we signed on to it … but the idea that (Taiwan) can be taken by force is just not appropriate.”

Before departing for the summit with Foreign Minister Penny Wong, Mr Albanese said Australia's relationship with Beijing would remain “a difficult one”, one in which he would “always stand up for our values”.

Mr Albanese said he would use the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue meeting with Mr Biden, Mr Kishida and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to “send a message to the world” that Australia’s climate change policies had changed.

The Quad meeting is set to be dominated by concerns about China’s growing assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific, amid Beijing’s new security agreement with the Solomon Islands and its ongoing threat towards Taiwan.

Mr Albanese, who will have bilateral meetings with each leader, said the Australia-US alliance was “our most important” relationship, and reiterated his commitment to the nation’s regional and multilateral partnerships. In his meeting with Mr Biden, he is expected to reiterate his commitment to the AUKUS nuclear submarine partnership, and discuss escalating ­security pressures in the Indo-­Pacific driven by Chinese diplomatic and military assertiveness.

China’s Premier Li Keqiang congratulated Mr Albanese on Monday night, ending an almost three-year long freeze on relations between Australia and China, although there was no direct contact between the two leaders.

Mr Li said the healthy and stable development of China-Australia relations was conducive to peace, stability, development, and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region

He singled out the Labor Party for “making the right choice” in 1972 by breaking ties with Taipei to recognise the People’s Republic of China.

Mr Albanese said he would “send a message to the world that there’s a new government in Australia”, while reassuring partners there would be “continuity in the way that we have respect for democracy and the way that we value our friendships and long time alliances”.

He will present his new government’s plans to re-engage with Southeast Asian countries through a $470m foreign aid partnership and a new special envoy for the region in addition to a $525m plan to boost ties with Pacific countries.

US President Joe Biden reviews an honour guard at the Akasaka State Guest House in Tokyo, Japan. Picture: Getty Images

Mr Albanese told The Australian the Quad was “central to Australia’s foreign policy, allowing us to deliver practical outcomes in our region”.

“Under my government, Australia will continue to work with Quad partners to deliver on the Quad’s commitments to the Indo-Pacific region,” he said.

“Among the priorities will be Covid-19 vaccine delivery and strengthening the resilience in health systems, taking real action on climate change, with a focus on supporting climate action in the region and scaling up clean energy, and bolstering resilience against cyber security threats.”

The new Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity is Mr Biden’s answer to the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which the US abandoned under Donald Trump.

New Zealand, South Korea, and Southeast Asian partners Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Brunei will also join the bloc, which represents about 40 per cent of the world’s economy.

The White House said it would enable the US and its allies to “to decide on rules of the road that ensure American workers, small businesses, and ranchers can compete in the Indo-Pacific”.

“This framework will help lower costs by making our supply chains more resilient in the long term, protecting us against costly disruptions that lead to higher prices for consumers,” it said.

The Biden initiative comes less than five months after the China-dominated Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership went into force with Australia as one of 15 members.

Australia, Japan and other allies had lobbied for the US to rejoin the trade deal, but Mr Biden opted for the new arrangement which will not reduce tariffs but instead establish new trading and digital economy rules. The initiative also aims to boost co-operation on supply chains, set new climate-change commitments and crack down on money laundering and bribery.

Mr Albanese, who received a high-level national security briefing last Wednesday ahead of election day, had a lengthy phone conversation with Mr Biden on Sunday as the US President flew from the US to South Korea ahead of the Quad.

The leaders were said to have struck up an easy familiarity, after a previous meeting when Mr Biden was Barack Obama’s vice-president.

Mr Albanese spoke to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson en route to Tokyo, having a “frank and very positive discussion” on strengthening security and climate change ties between Australia and the UK.

The Quad leaders meeting at the Kantei in Tokyo will begin on Tuesday morning, with a photo of the four leaders followed by the official meeting and a lunch hosted by Mr Kishida. The summit will feature several major ­announcements, and seek to ­reinforce the four nations’ commitments on a free and open Indo-Pacific, vaccine support for developing nations and disaster and humanitarian relief.

Defence Department secretary Greg Moriarty and Office of National Intelligence chief Andrew Shearer are travelling with Mr Albanese.

Additional reporting: Will Glasgow