Harry Harris new US ambassador to Australia

US Pacific Commander Harry Harris named as American ambassador to Australia, a move likely to anger Beijing.

Donald Trump has formally endorsed the the head of US Pacific Command, Admiral Harry Harris, as the next US ambassador to Australia.

The move is likely to anger Beijing, given Admiral Harris’s hawkish views on China, but it will be seen as a coup by the Turnbull government to have such a well qualified and senior former US military officer in the role at a time of growing strategic uncertainty in the region.

It also comes amid reports that the US Marine Corps will expand the number of marines serving in Darwin on a rotational basis. US military officials have told The Wall Street Journal in Darwin that the number of US marines there, currently 1250 on six-month rotations, will rise by an unspecified amount in March.

It comes as the Pentagon is considering a plan to send heavily armed, versatile Marine Corps Expeditionary Units to East Asia, curtailing some deployments in the Middle East as it repositions forces in response to growing Chinese influence, US military officials said.

The move would be among the first tangible steps by the Trump administration to expand the US military presence in Asia after announcing its National Defence Strategy last month.

“We have enduring interests here, and we have an enduring commitment and we have an enduring presence here,” General Joe Dunford, chairman of the Pentagon’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, said after a brief visit to Australia and Asia last week.

Malcolm Turnbull welcomed the “great” nomination of Admiral Harris for the Australian post, tweeting a photo of the two men together and saying “Look forward to seeing you in Canberra, Harry!”

Great to see Admiral Harry Harris nominated by @realDonaldTrump as US Ambassador to Australia. Look forward to seeing you in Canberra, Harry! pic.twitter.com/YHvu1NQ4BN

— Malcolm Turnbull (@TurnbullMalcolm) February 10, 2018

In a statement issued today, the White House said the 61-year-old Admiral Harris was “a highly decorated, combat proven Naval officer with extensive knowledge, leadership and geo-political expertise in the Indo-Pacific region”.

Admiral Harris is widely respected on both sides of politics in Washington and is expected to be confirmed by the Senate without controversy.

His appointment will end an embarrassing situation which has seen no US ambassador appointed to Canberra for 16 months, since the previous incumbent John Berry left the post in September 2016. Although the job has been ably filled by the US Charge d’Affaires James Carouso, it is highly unusual for such an important post to be left vacant for so long.

The delay partly reflects an unusually slow White House, which has struggled to fill senior positions across the administration and also the need for Admiral Harris to finish his tenure as head of Pacific Command.

In his role as PACOM commander Admiral Harris has visited Australia several times and knows key members of the Turnbull government as well as senior defence and foreign affairs officials.

He is known for his plain speaking on key strategic issues including his criticism of China’s militarisation of disputed islands in the South China Sea.

Admiral Harris angered Beijing by coining the phrase ‘Great Wall of sand’ to describe China’s build-up of military assets on the small islands in the region.

China is said to have attempted have his command terminated early in return for more assistance to the US on North Korea.

Andrew Shearer, former national security advisor to former prime minister Tony Abbott and now senior adviser of Asia Pacific Security as Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, said Admiral Harris’s nomination was good news for Australia-US relations

“It’s great news for the alliance obviously this is a period of change and uncertainty and appointing someone of Harris’s calibre shows how seriously the US and the Trump administration are taking Australia,” Mr Shearer told The Australian today.

“Harris knows Australia well, from his time as Pacific Commander and a long career with the US Navy - Australians like him and he has a good understand of Australia and Australians.”

Mr Shearer said China should not be surprised by the appointment. “Harris is eminently qualified for the job, the military alliance with the US remains the cornerstone of Australia’s security and a key pillar of us strategy in the region.”

Admiral Harris’s mother is Japanese and his father was a former US sailor stationed in Japan. He grew up in Tennessee but now lives in Hawaii with his wife, Bruni.

After graduating from the US Naval Academy in 1978 he earned a MPA from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, a MA from Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service and attended Oxford university.

“During his 39-year career, he served in every geographic combatant command and has held seven command assignments, including the U.S Pacific Fleet, the U.S. Sixth Fleet, and VP-46,” the White House said.

Once confirmed, he is expected to take up his position before mid-year.

(Cameron Stewart is also US Contributor for Sky News Australia)

The White House statement on Harry Harris.