PM stops short of endorsing Trump over ‘deterrent’ AUKUS
The PM stopped short of endorsing Trump’s declaration AUKUS is a ‘deterrent’ to China in the Indo-Pacific and baulked at raising directly with Xi the targeting of an Australian surveillance plane.
Anthony Albanese has stopped short of endorsing Donald Trump’s declaration that $368bn AUKUS nuclear submarine pact is a “deterrent” to China in the Indo-Pacific and baulked at raising directly with Xi Jinping the dangerous targeting of an Australian surveillance plane.
Ahead of flying back to Australia on Wednesday (AEDT), the Prime Minister was asked whether he agreed with the US President’s comments about the AUKUS agreement acting as a deterrent against Chinese military aggression and any potential invasion of Taiwan by 2027.
After meeting with Mr Trump and having dinner with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Mr Albanese confirmed that he had discussed the US-led Gaza peace plan with Mr Rubio.
Asked by The Australian if he had talked about Palestinian recognition and Mr Trump’s peace plan with the US President and Mr Rubio, including any involvement or role played by Australia in Gaza, Mr Albanese said “I did speak with the Secretary (Rubio) about the Gaza peace plan and how it’s rolling out”.
“I’m not in a position to go into that detail for obvious reasons but we’re very supportive of the role that the United States is playing there,” Mr Albanese said.
Mr Albanese, who spent three hours with Mr Trump at the White House on Tuesday, said he would not “comment on President Trump’s comments” about Taiwan.
“President Trump’s comments stands. And I’m not going to be in a position – and I’ve done that consistently in Australia – of commenting on his comments,” Mr Albanese said.
“I think that his comments were, of course, very constructive. He’s meeting President Xi soon, and certainly we talked about the meeting that I’ve had with President Xi in my visit to China.”
The Labor leader, who declared the country’s “position has not changed” in its policy relating to a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, said the AUKUS agreement is about “our national security”.
“It is about a more secure and peaceful Indo-Pacific and region. I think it’s a more secure region when you have a stronger presence, and that is what it’s about. It’s not about any one country. It’s about Australia’s national security and about our alliance with the United States and our partners, including, of course, the United Kingdom,” he said.
Mr Albanese, who will attend the ASEAN and APEC summits in Malaysia and South Korea next week, would not commit to raising with Mr Xi the dangerous incident involving a Chinese fighter jet and Royal Australian Air Force surveillance aircraft in the South China Sea.
“We have raised the issue with the Chinese administration both in Beijing and in Canberra,” he said.
After Mr Trump grilled Australia’s ambassador to the US, Kevin Rudd, during a 40-minute press conference at the White House on Monday local time, Mr Albanese said the US President told Dr Rudd that “all is forgiven”.
Mr Albanese confirmed Dr Rudd’s appointment as Ambassador to Washington was for a four-year period, which means he would stay in the role until 2027. The Labor leader said Mr Trump was gifted a “submarine model” and Ugg booties for the US President’s new grand-daughter. First Lady Melania Trump received “jewellery”.
He would not publicly say what gifts were received from the Trumps, linking the lack of disclosure to “protocol” delays. Typically, Australian prime ministers release details about gifts exchanged with world leaders.
Mr Albanese revealed he had walked with Mr Trump around the White House grounds before their formal bilateral meeting to discuss a range of issues and “engage personally”.
After the press conference and meeting in the White House cabinet room, Mr Albanese said “we went back to the Oval Office and took photos in the Oval Office”.
“The President gave us his challenge coin. We did some photos. After other members of the delegation left I had another one-on-one with the President where we talked about a range of things including personal things as well.
“We saw the plan for the ballroom and it will be a fantastic facility to be able to host indoors, in the ballroom able to host state dinners is the plan. We had a chat about that, it was one of the things that we talked about when we walked around the grounds.”
The Prime Minister then used his address to BHP’s 140th anniversary lunch reception at the Australian Embassy in Washington to praise Dr Rudd’s efforts in advancing the critical minerals deal.
“It is absolutely the case that there is no harder working (ambassador), because it is not possible to work harder than Kevin Rudd does,” Mr Albanese said. “His engagement with people across the Congress and across the US administration is quite extraordinary. And the respect that he has held is a product of that.”
“He is an outstanding Australian representative, and it says something about – as I said to President Trump yesterday – said something about the importance that we place in the relationship with the United States that a former prime minister is their ambassador here. It’s something that isn’t the norm.”
“It’s something that certainly Kevin didn’t need to do. But it was a part of his service to Australia. I thank you today very much publicly … The success of this visit is down to your hard work.”
Mr Albanese also touched on the strength of his personal relationship with Mr Trump, reflecting on commentary that his engagement with the US President “seemed warm.”
“You bet it was. Because we like each other,” the Prime Minister said. “Australians and Americans get on. That’s what we do. It doesn’t mean that we’ll always agree on every issue, but it does mean that we will always engage in a really constructive way.”
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