Trump’s Volatility in Asia Distresses a Longtime U.S. Ally: Australia
In the discussion last week at the Lowy Institute, a think tank in Sydney, Mr. Keating said Australia should say no to the United States more often — as France
and Canada do — especially on issues that affect Australia’s relationship with China.
In a discussion last year about the cost of the Marines in Darwin, the Australians came in with a data-heavy presentation asserting
that United States Marines eat more than typical Australian soldiers, and therefore strain sewage systems more, and argued that the Americans should pay more of the costs of improving wastewater lines on military bases.
But North Korea’s threat against the country, far-fetched as it might seem, is an example of how Australia’s most important military alliance faces a new challenge: the risk
that President Trump will draw the nation into a conflict or other unexpected crisis that destabilizes the region, angers its trading partners or forces it to side with either the United States or China.
In an interview at his modest office, with worn carpets
and military memorabilia, Mr. Howard warned against being "mesmerized by China" and said his Liberal Party, which is the more conservative of the country’s two largest parties, had "pulled off the daily double." "We deepened our relationship with the U.S. — and China became our biggest customer," he said.
On the ground in countries like Iraq and Afghanistan, Australian troops are also peers in battle, said Lt. Col. Brian S. Middleton, commanding officer of the Third Battalion, Fourth Marines — the American unit
that just moved into Darwin for six months of training with the Australians.
As part of the American pivot to Asia, the long-term plan, negotiated under the Obama administration, is to send
up to 2,500 Marines to Darwin — the largest deployment of United States forces to Australia since World War II.
"We need to have a more frank and structured discussion amongst ourselves about how to manage
that relationship." Allan Gyngell, who ran Australia’s intelligence agency from 2009 to 2013, argues in a new book, "Fear of Abandonment," that Australia’s foreign policy is still driven by worries about being left isolated, without the promise of security from a powerful friend: first Britain, now the United States.
