All Posts Tagged With: "ANZUS"

U.S.-Australian Relations In A New Era: Nicholas Burns

Dec 6, 2007 - A.L.P., ANZUS, Audio Clips, Features, Foreign Policy, Rudd Government | comments(0)

The US-Australian Alliance has “a foundation deeper than the policies or political parties of the day”, according to the United States Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Ambassador R. Nicholas Burns.

Addressing the Lowy Institute in Sydney, Burns said he was “impressed by the new Australian cabinet”. He said “Australia is as good a friend to the US as any country in the world” and there is “no reason for that to change”.

The speech by Burns is the first delivered by a senior U.S. official since the election of the Rudd Labor Government.

Listen to Nicholas Burns’ Speech to the Lowy Institute:

This is an extract from the speech by Nicholas Burns, as published in The Australian on December 7, 2007.

R. Nicholas Burns, US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs

This week I met Australia’s new leaders in Canberra. I had good and extensive talks with Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard, Foreign Minister Stephen Smith, Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon and Agriculture Minister Tony Burke, and I participated in two days of meetings with the Australia-Japan-US Trilateral Strategic Dialogue.

I was impressed by the new Australian cabinet. They are uniformly smart, open and, I sensed, friends of the US. The US looks forward to continuing with the new Government the close alliance and partnership we have enjoyed with all Australian governments and indeed with the people of Australia.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd noted recently that our partnership blossomed under Labor prime minister John Curtin when, in 1942, Australia and the US together faced and triumphed in the most terrible war of modern times.

In my personal view, Australia is as good a friend to the US as any country in the world. And there is no reason for that to change. More than partners, we have been long-time allies. On Tuesday, my first stop in Canberra was the Australian War Memorial. I was, frankly, overwhelmed by it. The memorial is an extraordinarily moving tribute to the 102,000 Australians who died in some of the most historic battles of the past century. Ninety years ago, American soldiers fought under Australian command at the battle of Hamel in World War I. Aussie Diggers and American GIs have served side by side in every major conflict since: World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, two Gulf wars, and at present in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Australian officers and soldiers in exchange billets are sprinkled throughout units in the US Pacific Command, their distinctive headgear a dead giveaway before they reveal their accents.

On a global basis, Australia punches above its weight, militarily, diplomatically, on intelligence and now on the cutting edge of trade, investment and technological innovation. Australians are seen to be effective in the world and we are proud to be your friends.

Our partnership and alliance are founded not in sentimentality - although there is plenty of that in our long friendship - but, most importantly, shared values, shared world views and shared national interests. This is the glue that will maintain the US-Australia friendship and alliance through political transitions in your country this week and in mine in about a year.

The Australia-US alliance begins with geography. The US, like Australia, is a Pacific nation. We share a common view of the strategic importance - and the particular 21st-century challenges - of the Asia-Pacific region. American strategy for the region is actually rather straightforward. We, like Australia, aim to ensure the peace by promoting freedom, justice and human dignity, and by supporting free and open markets.

We are fortunate in the US to enjoy a bipartisan consensus that America needs to remain fully engaged in the Asia-Pacific region.

That means we must maintain our broad military presence, sustain strong political ties to our allies and partners, work to engage a rising China constructively, and advance open trade and investment to lift all boats on the tide of what may be a Pacific century to come.

The absolute core of US policy is the tremendous value we place on our relationships with our treaty allies in the region - Australia, Japan, South Korea, Thailand and The Philippines - and with other partners who share these values such as Singapore, whose leadership I met this week.

What in diplo-speak we refer to as regional architecture - that is, ASEAN, the ASEAN Regional Forum and APEC - plays a huge role in promoting greater stability and economic integration.

The US was pleased with the great success of the recent APEC meetings hosted by Australia in Sydney.

Together, we produced constructive action on climate change. We built support for advancing the Doha Round negotiations. We made progress towards a free trade area of the Asia-Pacific. And we strengthened APEC as an institution, never an easy task since the organisation includes so many disparate interests. But such good co-operation can occur only in a region that is at peace with itself. The 62 years that have passed since the end of World War II on September 2, 1945, represent a unique period in the history of the region.

Our most important, vital and overarching strategic aim must be to avoid the repetition of such a tragic conflict that our parents’ generation knew all too well. Since World War II ended, we believe the US military presence in Asia has been the most important factor in producing stability and security in the region.

The US presence has guaranteed freedom of navigation in the Asia-Pacific sea lanes, which has underpinned the region’s extraordinary economic growth.

This American security guarantee has, in many cases, obviated the need for countries in the region to spend vast sums on their militaries. We continue to hear from the overwhelming majority of countries in the region that they welcome the US presence and want us to remain active in the region and continue to play this stabilising role.

On the fight against international terrorism and nuclear proliferation and on so very many other tough issues, I cannot stress enough how much the US appreciates the support of Australia and respects its steadfastness. Americans overwhelmingly like Australia. We are unreserved in our admiration of things Australian. We are deepening our political ties. We are bolstering our trade relations. We co-operate closely on defence issues and intelligence sharing. In truth, it is no exaggeration to say that the US has no closer friend and ally in the world than Australia.

As Australians welcome a new government and as we enter our own election season in the US, I want to assure you that our long history together, our friendship and the alliance have a foundation deeper than the policies or political parties of the day.


Nicholas Burns is US Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs.

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UN, USA, Asia: Three Pillars Of Labor’s Foreign Policy Says Smith

Nov 29, 2007 - A.L.P., ANZUS, Features, Rudd Government | comments(0)

The incoming Minister for Foreign Affairs, Stephen Smith, has outlined the three pillars underpinning Federal Labor’s foreign policy approach.

In a statement issued today, Smith said those pillars were:

  • Our membership of the United Nations;

  • Our Alliance with the United States; and

  • Our policy of comprehensive engagement with Asia.

    Smith said: “Federal Labor has consistently emphasised the need to focus our foreign policy and diplomatic efforts on Australia’s national interests within our own Asia-Pacific region.

    “With Kevin Rudd, I look forward to working to ensure Australia takes a lead role in addressing our shared global challenges.

    “Following Monday’s official swearing in ceremony, I anticipate meeting and consulting with our neighbours, partners and friends.”

    These are the speech notes of the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Stephen Smith, at the Annual Diplomatic Corps Christmas Party, in Canberra, on December 3, 2007.

    Stephen Smith, incoming Minister for Foreign Affairs in the Rudd Labor Government

    Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Michael L’Estrange. Thank you for that introduction.

    Your Excellencies.

    My parliamentary colleagues, the Minister for Trade, the Hon. Simon Crean, and the Parliamentary Secretary for Trade, the Hon. John Murphy.

    Chief of the Defence Force, Air Chief Marshall Angus Houston.

    Peter Shergold, and other Department Heads,

    Distinguished guests,

    Ladies and gentlemen.

    It is a great pleasure to be here this evening with my Cabinet colleague the Minister for Trade, Simon Crean.

    As you know, I was sworn in this morning and as a consequence, this is my first official function as Minister for Foreign Affairs.

    For over the last decade your host has been Alexander Downer – Australia’s longest-serving Foreign Minister. I had the chance to speak with Alexander this afternoon.

    He asked that I pass his thanks and best wishes to you and express his appreciation for the work of your missions over not just the past year but his period in office.

    I also take this opportunity, whatever our policy differences, to acknowledge his personal contribution in our national interest in the Foreign Affairs portfolio.

    It is a great privilege for me to be here tonight as Australia’s 35th Foreign Minister, the sixth from Western Australia and the sixth Labor Foreign Minister since the Second World War.

    I am very conscious of the role my Labor predecessors have played in helping to establish Australia’s name and reputation in international affairs. I aspire to carrying on that Labor tradition of service.

    At the heart of the new Rudd Labor Government’s foreign policy approach lies the responsibility to protect, defend and enhance Australia’s national security, to maximise our economic opportunities and to advance Australia’s national interest across the range of international issues.

    There are three pillars that underpin the Labor Government’s approach to foreign policy.

    First, our relationship with the United States. Australia’s alliance with the United States was forged during the Second World War.

    John Curtin is a hero in my own State of Western Australia, not because he lived in Cottesloe, but because through his forging of the US alliance, he saved our nation at its moment of greatest peril.

    That alliance has since been supported and developed by both major political parties in both of our countries since that time, Labor, Liberal, Democrat, Republican.

    It remains a key pillar of our foreign policy approach. Our friendship with the United States is deep and valued by both sides. I look forward to pursuing that in a way which advances both our nations’ mutual interests.

    Second, our membership of the United Nations. The international legal obligations and responsibilities that brings is another fundamental pillar of our foreign policy approach.

    Australia, through Prime Minister Ben Chifley and Foreign Minister Herbert Vere Evatt, was instrumental in helping to found the United Nations. We took, for example, an active role in the first phase of United Nations activity, helping Indonesia achieve its independence.

    We will work cooperatively with and in the international community on the mutual challenges we face. We will play our part in finding solutions to what are sometimes difficult issues.

    Third, our strong focus on Asia and the Pacific. We are in a unique position as a nation state, a country of 21 million people nestled in the Asia-Pacific region. Our diverse region is our home and home to many of our closest friends and neighbours.

    We have important relationships with New Zealand and the Pacific Island countries. We have significant relationships with the countries of South-East Asia. We are closely linked to the economic powerhouses of North-East Asia. Our relationships with our traditional post World War Two trading partners, Japan and Korea, and our relationship with the rapidly developing powerhouse, China, are crucial to our future economic and social prosperity and our national security.

    We will build on the strength of these relationships – both bilaterally and through our regional and multilateral diplomacy – in the period ahead.

    These three pillars are the framework through which we can achieve our foreign policy goals and enhance Australia’s national interest.

    In Government, the great task of the Australian Labor Party is twofold; to uplift the lives of our citizens and to uplift the spirit of the nation – to give working Australians the opportunity to realise their dreams and give our nation the opportunity to realise its potential.

    Australia is a great trading nation. Our social and economic prosperity has always depended on international trade. That remains the case even more so today. To uplift the lives of working Australian families, we must continue to look outwards.

    Governments also represent their people and should reflect their national characteristics, values and virtues. For an Australian Labor Government, that means reflecting the quintessential Australian value of a “fair go”. It means putting out a helping hand to those less fortunate and standing by them.

    Just as we want a “fair go” at home, we must deal with other nation states with civility, dignity and respect. That is a good basis for a government dealing with its nation’s citizens. It is also the basis of being a good international citizen.

    Civility, respect and dignity: at home and abroad.

    I am unashamedly a proud Western Australian. Sometimes I look at the world from a Western Australian perspective. In the past this may have been seen as parochial. Not today. And not for the future.

    The great outlying State of Western Australia underlines the importance of international trade to our nation’s economic and social prosperity. Western Australia looks naturally to the Indian Ocean. When the sun sets in the West, it sets on the Indian Ocean, not the Pacific.

    I believe it is essential to ensure that Australia looks to our important neighbours and partners to our west. India’s remarkable development only encourages me to bring us closer together. I look forward to working with the Indian Government and the Indian people to add depth and vigour to our relationship.

    Ladies and Gentlemen it is a great pleasure to be here with you tonight. I hope that this is just the first of many meetings. I look forward to working with you, and through you, your governments, in the period ahead. Whatever issues, difficult or otherwise we confront, the Labor Government, on behalf of Australia, will deal with them and your Governments in a cooperative and productive way.

    Thank you.

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