Barrack Obama’s former Asia Pacific advisor warns Australian and the US need to work together to curtail China’s influence before it’s too late.
Daniel Russel said the rising superpower’s ‘sins’ and escalating brinkmanship with U.S. President Donald Trump could hurt Australia’s interests.
The two countries’ rivalry was now ‘far more than a trade war’ and Australia may end up becoming collateral damage.
Barrack Obama’s former Asia Pacific advisor Daniel Russel said the rising superpower’s ‘sins’ and escalating brinkmanship with U.S. President Donald Trump could hurt Australia’s interests
Russel, who was assistant secretary of state for east Asian and Pacific affairs under President Obama, said Trump’s policies were not working.
Though his tariffs, which have also hurt parts of the U.S. economy, got China to the table, he had done nothing with the leverage but cause a ‘dangerous downward spiral in the US-China relationship’.
‘Both sides are hardening. It looks to be a lose-lose proposition. I don’t think either country or the region can benefit from this level of friction and enmity between the U.S. and China,’ he told the Sun-Herald.
The situation was so far gone that not even a trade deal between the two nations because issues they disagreed on were increasingly politicised.
President Trump’s policies were aimed at hurting the Chinese economy, but the fallout was far wider given Australia’s reliance on Chinese trade.
‘You really can’t damage the Chinese economy without damaging the interests of the broader region and the global economic system,’ Mr Russel said.
He said the U.S. and China’s rivalry was now ‘far more than a trade war’ and Australia may end up becoming collateral damage
Instead, Australia, the U.S. and other like-minded allies should unite to push back against ‘the unfair and predatory economic and commercial practices that we have seen for so long by the Chinese’.
These included its total disregard for intellectual property, lack of reciprocity in trade, and its expanding military influence in the region.
The focus should be on ‘the sin, not the sinner’ to avoid escalating tensions while still holding Beijing to account when it overstepped the mark.
Australia and the U.S. should ‘link arms’ and push a ‘clear set of rules and principles’ that China would be expected to adhere to.
China was also on the agenda as U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne on Sunday.
Also at the AUSMIN meeting was U.S. Defence Secretary Mark Esper and his Australian counterpart Linda Reynolds.
He said Australia, the U.S. and other like-minded allies should unite to push back against ‘the unfair and predatory economic and commercial practices that we have seen for so long by the Chinese’ (Chinese President Xi Jinping pictured)
Mr Esper said China was destabilizing the Indo-Pacific with predatory economics, intellectual property theft and ‘weaponising the global commons’.
‘We firmly believe no one nation can or should dominate the Indo-Pacific and we are working alongside our allies and partners to address the region’s pressing security needs,’ he said.
‘We also stand firmly against a disturbing pattern of aggressive behavior, destabilizing behavior from China.
‘This includes weaponising the global commons, using predatory economics and debt for sovereignty deals, and promoting state-sponsored theft of other nations’ intellectual property.’
China has unnerved the region and angered the U.S. by installing military equipment and other facilities on artificial islands it has made in the disputed South China Sea.
China claims large parts of the South China Sea through which roughly $3.4 trillion in shipping passes each year. Countries including Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam contest the territorial claims.
The senior members of the Trump administration spent the day meeting with Foreign Minister Marise Payne and Defence Minister Linda Reynolds in Sydney following a dinner with Prime Minister Scott Morrison at Kirribilli House. Pictured L-R: Dr Esper, Mr Pompeo, Ms Payne and Ms Reynolds
China was also on the agenda as U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne on Sunday
Mr Pompeo on Friday decried ‘decades of bad behavior’ from China that have hampered free trade, laying out a case at a Southeast Asian forum in Bangkok for Washington’s trade war with Beijing.
President Trump on Thursday slapped 10% tariffs on $300 billion in Chinese imports, stunning financial markets and ending a month-long trade war truce. China vowed on Friday to fight back.
The United States and its Western allies worry that China is using foreign aid to secure greater influence over small Pacific countries which control vast swathes of resource-rich ocean.
Australia, traditionally the major power in the South Pacific, has promised up to A$3 billion ($2.04 billion) in grants and cheap loans to counter what Washington describes as China’s ‘payday loan diplomacy.’
‘Cooperation with us and our Australian friends bring mutual benefits, not zeros, deals where one side wins and other risks losing,’ said Pompeo in a thinly veiled criticism of China’s aid.
Security measures have been beefed up for U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s visit to Australia. Pictured: Two snipers waiting on a rooftop
However, Senator Payne was also at pains to tout China as a regional partner as talks turned to the deployment of U.S. ground-based missiles in the north of Australia.
‘The presence of the U.S. and its military forces has been a force for stability for decades, and Australia has consistently welcomed that force and presence,’ she said.
‘I would always be expecting the Secretary of Defense to be considering the posture of the US forces, that’s the job.
‘In regards to our regional engagement, let me also ensure and remind that for China and Australia, we see China as a vitally important partner.
‘It’s in no one’s interests for the Indo-Pacific to become more competitive, adversarial in character. We work closely with our key partners, our strongest alliance, the US, and our key partner, China.’