G7: Scott Morrison has historic talks with Biden, Johnson; leaders set to back PM’s call on WHO powers
As Scott Morrison holds an unprecedented talks with Joe Biden and Boris Johnson, the PM urges powers akin to weapons inspectors.
Scott Morrison has held a historic meeting with US President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, bringing together three wartime allies to discuss escalating instability in the Indo-Pacific and the need to work more closely in response to regional and global threats.
The Prime Minister’s most important bilateral meeting of the G7 summit was expanded to include both Mr Biden and Mr Johnson, with Australia, the US and Britain discussing enhanced collaboration in key strategic, defence, infrastructure and critical supply chain initiatives.
The Indo-Pacific step-up, Beijing’s economic coercion of countries including Australia and increasing disinformation and cyber campaigns linked to China and Russia has been a key focus at the G7-plus leaders’ summit at the Cornish seaside resort village of Carbis Bay.
The Australian understands G7 leaders will support a suggestion raised by Mr Morrison on Saturday for the WHO to be bolstered with powers similar to weapons inspectors.
A WHO report in March dismissed the possibility that the Covid pandemic began with a lab leak, saying it was “extremely unlikely” that the virus was introduced to humans this way.
However, the finding has been heavily criticised, with scientists saying the WHO gave the possibility of a lab accident short shrift compared with a natural-origin scenario.
“The report lacks crucial data, information, and access. It represents a partial and incomplete picture,” a White House spokeswoman said at the time when asked about WHO’s stance on Covid’s origins.
US President Joe Biden has ordered an intelligence review of the origins of the pandemic.
Biden said earlier this year he tasked the intelligence community with preparing “a report on their most up-to-date analysis of the origins of Covid-19, including whether it emerged from human contact with an infected animal or from a laboratory accident.”
Morrison, Johnson and Biden discuss ‘issues of concern’
“Prime Minster Johnson, President Biden and Prime Minister Morrison met in the margins of the G7 summit in Carbis Bay on June 12, 2021,” a joint statement from the three leaders said.
“They discussed a number of issues of mutual concern, including the Indo-Pacific region. They agreed that the strategic context in the Indo-Pacific was changing and that there was a strong rationale for deepening co-operation between the three governments.
“They welcomed the forthcoming visits and exercises in the Indo-Pacific by the Carrier Strike Group, led by HMS Queen Elizabeth.”
The meeting ran for 45 minutes, despite originally being slated for 20 minutes, and afterwards Mr Morrison and Mr Biden walked together to participate in a group photograph with other world leaders.
Mr Morrison described the talks as a “unique opportunity for a trilateral meeting”.
“That is not a usual opportunity that we’ve had at these events in the past,” Mr Morrison said.
“We had an opportunity today to discuss the Indo-Pacific situation more broadly. Australia has no greater friends than the United States and the United Kingdom and we’ve been working together on our respective security issues for a very long time.
“We had a good opportunity to talk about those and look to see how we can further co-operate in the future. The situation only reinforces the need for us to have deeper co-operation.”
Mr Morrison said the G7 summit was a “great opportunity for liberal democracies and advanced economies alike to be able to align their thinking and their outlooks on how they’re seeing issues around the world”.
The Prime Minister said Australia’s handling of the Chinese economic relationship was based on being “consistent”.
“We are for a stable and peaceful and open Indo-Pacific. That’s in everybody’s interests. It’s in Australia’s interests, it’s in China’s interests. And for the free trade that can occur throughout the region,” he said.
Mr Morrison, who confirmed climate change was not the subject of their discussions, on Saturday night said Australia’s alliance with the US and UK as never being “has never been stronger”.
“It was a meeting of great friends and allies who share a view on the world. It was a great opportunity for my first meeting of course with the President. I’ve known Boris for many years.
“And there was a very easy understanding among the three of us. As liberal democracies with a great history of friendship and partnership and a shared view on the world and its challenges, and strategic challenges at that. We are very conscious of the environment we face but whatever that environment is we’ll always face it together.
“Our alliance with the United States, our alliance with the United Kingdom has never been stronger.”
Mr Johnson had earlier formally welcomed Mr Morrison to the G7 in a beach ceremony, alongside other G7-plus members South Korea and South Africa.
Mr Morrison, who met with South Korean president Moon Jae-in at Tregenna Castle on Saturday morning before speaking at a G7 health and pandemic preparedness session, will meet with Japan Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and German chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday.
Mr Morrison’s first in-person meeting with Mr Biden was initially intended to focus on ramping-up land force co-operation, the joint development of critical technologies, as well as climate change, new energy technologies and cyber threats.
Mr Johnson, who will hold one-on-one talks at Downing Street with Mr Morrison on Tuesday, has dramatically ramped-up Britain’s military presence in the Indo-Pacific, including sending naval carrier strike group led by aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth on a 28-week maiden voyage including movements through the South China Sea and Philippine Sea.
Australia and the US will progress plans to align their strategic approach in the Indo-Pacific later this year when Defence Minister Peter Dutton and Foreign Minister Marise Payne meet with their counterparts Lloyd Austin and Antony Blinken at the upcoming AUSMIN meeting.
More Coverage
Trump’s Gaza gambit is brazen and naive
Donald Trump has shown the gulf between his position and Anthony Albanese’s, wedging Labor on Palestine. But his plan to ‘own’ Gaza won’t work.
Kerr’s trashy outburst should’ve been the end of the story. Sadly, it’s not
Two women. Two court cases. Each much ado about nothing. But there is a bigger tale here about a plodding prime minister who took too long to intervene.