Joe Biden lauds AUKUS as key achievement
In his final foreign policy speech, Joe Biden declared the US is ‘winning the worldwide competition’, citing the AUKUS defence pact as a pivotal achievement in countering China’s influence in the Indo-Pacific.
Joe Biden has claimed AUKUS as one of his key achievements in a speech defending his international record and conduct of foreign policy, arguing that America had created new partnerships in the Indo-Pacific to “challenge China’s aggressive behaviour”.
Mr Biden declared that the United States was now “winning the worldwide competition” and, in a swipe at Donald Trump, argued that America and its alliance relationships were “stronger” than when he took office.
At an address at the State Department, the US President gave a report on the progress he believed his administration had achieved in the past four years – arguing that the world was “at an inflection point” and that the post-Cold War period was over.
“A new era has begun,” he said. “In these four years we’ve faced crises. We’ve been tested. We’ve come through those tests stronger in my view than we entered those tests.”
Mr Biden said his administration had made the most significant investment in America and its working people since the New Deal and that his investments in climate and clean energy had spurred nearly $500bn worth of private sector investment.
He said that nearly $1.3 trillion had been invested in defence procurement as well as in research and development to fight and win wars, which he argued was the best way for the US to deter adversaries.
“NATO is more capable than it’s ever been and many more of our allies are paying their fair share. Before I took office nine NATO allies were spending two per cent of GDP on defence. Now, 23 are spending 2 per cent (of GDP on defence),” he said.
“We made partnerships stronger and created new partnerships to challenge China’s aggressive behaviour and to rebalance power in the (Indo-Pacific) region,” he said. “We brokered a defence pact known as AUKUS among the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom – connecting the Atlantic and Pacific allies as only America is able to do.”
Mr Biden said he had taken the quadrilateral security dialogue to the next level and tightened co-operation between democracies to ensure more secure supply chains and greater collaboration on advanced technologies.
The outgoing US President said that there was a fierce economic and technological competition under way – including competition over human values – but argued the United States was in a better position under his leadership than when he took over the presidency four years ago from Mr Trump.
“Our adversaries and competitors are weaker,” he said. “During my presidency I have increased America’s power in every direction.”
“America is more capable and I would argue better prepared than we’ve been in a long, long time. While our competitors and adversaries are facing stiff headwinds, we have the wind at our back,” Mr Biden said.
“Our sources of national power are far stronger than they were when we took office. Our economy is booming, although there is more work to do … We are the envy of the world,” he said.
He argued that Russian leader Vladimir Putin had failed to achieve any of his strategic objectives in Eastern Europe, subjugate Ukraine or break the unity of NATO.
“Today Ukraine is still (a) free, independent country with the potential for a bright future,” he said. “We laid the foundation for the next administration so that they can protect the bright future of the Ukrainian people.”
He also said that, in the Middle East, Iran was weaker than it had been in decades.
“Did you ever think that we’d be where we are with Iran at this moment?” he asked. “After those despicable attacks by Hamas (on Israel) on October 7?
“Now Iran’s air defences are in shambles and their main proxy Hezbollah is badly wounded.”
Mr Biden said the evidence of a seriously weakened Iran and Russia lay in Syria.
“President Assad is both countries’ closest ally in the Middle East. Neither could keep him in power,” Mr Biden said.
The US President said that Israel had contributed to the global outlook by inflicting damage on Iran and its proxies.
While major authoritarian states including Iran, Russian, China and North Korea were aligning more closely with one another, this was “more out of weakness than out of strength”.
Mr Biden said that, with respect to the strength of authoritarian nations, the incoming Trump administration had been left in a better position because of his administration’s management of foreign policy.
“We are in a better strategic position (in) the long-term competition with China than we were when I took office,” Mr Biden said.
He argued that, on its current trajectory, the Chinese economy would never surpass that of the US and made clear he had told Xi Jinping that America’s expectation was for Beijing to play by the international rules.
His administration had taken action against unfair trade practices and had also imposed targeted tariffs on Chinese steel, cars and semiconductors instead of across-the-board tariffs.
Mr Biden said his administration had enlisted US partners in responding to China, arguing he was successful in “building more convergence among our allies on a shared approach to China than ever existed.”
Yet he argued his administration had continued to manage the relationship with China responsibly, created new lines of communication at the highest level and at the military to military level in actions which had prevented the likelihood of conflict.