WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump welcomed Australia’s prime minister on Friday for only the second state visit of his administration, signalling the close bond between the two allies as Washington takes on Beijing and Tehran.
Trump and Scott Morrison are expected to discuss security and trade, as China’s increasing assertiveness, especially in the energy-rich South China Sea, has raised concerns within the region and the United States.
The leaders were also set to release a plan on Friday aimed at securing the supply of rare earth minerals, as concerns grow that China, the world’s largest processor and producer of the minerals, could cut off shipments of the prized commodities.
Days before the visit, a sign draped across the Australian Embassy in Washington proclaimed “100 years of mateship” between the two countries. On Friday, Trump feted Morrison’s arrival at the White House’s South Lawn with a 19-gun salute and US Marine Band performances of each nation’s national anthems.
“It’s highly symbolic of where the relationship sits at the moment,” said Patrick Buchan, a fellow at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, noting that Morrison’s state visit was second only to French President Emmanuel Macron’s last year.
“Australia played a very smart game with Trump,” he added, noting the country had avoided directly criticizing him, unlike some European counterparts.
Trump got off to a smooth start with Morrison in May, congratulating him on his surprise election victory in a tweet noting there were “no greater friends” than the United States and Australia.
The two also met on the sidelines of the G20 in June, cementing warm ties that Trump did not enjoy with Morrison’s predecessor, Malcolm Turnbull. Trump berated Turnbull in February 2017 over a bilateral refugee agreement before abruptly ending their telephone conversation.
Australia also agreed last month to join a coalition to protect oil tankers and cargo ships in the Strait of Hormuz after a series of attacks there.
Australia has also banned China’s Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, the world’s top provider of telecoms equipment, from its 5G network, something the Trump administration has struggled to persuade other allies to do.
The United States says Huawei’s ties to Beijing make the network equipment it sells to telecoms firms a security risk.
Australian intelligence concluded China was responsible for a cyberattack on Australia’s parliament and its three largest political parties, Reuters reported on Monday.
Following an arrival ceremony, bilateral meetings, and a joint news conference, Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was scheduled to host a luncheon for Morrison to be followed by a state dinner at the White House.
Trump denies ‘dicey’ conversation: Meanwhile, Trump again denied Friday that he did anything wrong during a mysterious phone call with an as-yet unidentified foreign leader after a whistleblower in the intelligence services sounded the alarm.
The Washington Post reported that the call was to Ukraine and that Trump had made a “promise” of some kind. “There was nothing said wrong, it was pitch perfect!” Trump tweeted, without detailing whom he had spoken to or what was said.
He said his Democratic opponents and the media “think I may have had a ‘dicey’ conversation with a certain foreign leader” but this was only based on what he called “a ‘highly partisan’ whistleblowers statement.”
Trump on Thursday had issued a similar denial of wrongdoing.
However, a political storm is rapidly brewing over the refusal by Trump’s Director of National Intelligence to give Congress the whistleblower’s report.
— Reuters/AFP
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