Sydney (Australia), Jul 28 (EFE).- The US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, assured this Friday that the alliance between his country and Australia is “stronger than ever”, in the midst of tensions between Washington and Beijing in the Indo-Pacific.
“We have no better friend or partner than Australia and I don’t think that alliance or partnership has ever been stronger,” Blinken said today from Brisbane, where he met his Australian counterpart, Penny Wong.
Blinken also stressed that it makes a “big difference for Washington to have close friends” in these “difficult times.”
“We want to live in a region, in a world that is peaceful, stable and prosperous, and we understand the importance of working closely with you to ensure that this is achieved,” Wong said.
Australia and the US, two historical allies, have further strengthened their ties with the resurgence of the Quad -which also unites them with India and Japan to increase the influence of these countries in the Indo-Pacific as a counterpoint to China-, as well as with the signing in 2021 of a security pact called AUKUS.
This pact, which includes the United Kingdom and contemplates the acquisition and development of nuclear-powered submarines in Australia, has been criticized by China, which considers that it will undermine regional stability.
In addition to Blinken, the US Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, is also in Australia today, who today assured that Washington will defend its partners against the “worrying coercion” that China exercises in the region.
Austin previously traveled to Papua New Guinea to promote a security pact with this country, also with an eye toward counterpointing China in the South Pacific.
The US, Australia and other nations have mobilized in the South Pacific after China and the Solomon Islands signed a security pact in 2022 and Beijing’s claims to reach a multilateral agreement with several nations in the area.
Blinken and Austin will participate in the 2+2 AUSMIN annual ministerial meeting in Brisbane on Saturday alongside Wong and Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles to address issues related to the alliance, regional security and the climate crisis.
Previously, Blinken was this week in New Zealand and Tonga, from where he accused China on Wednesday of “increasingly problematic behaviour” in the Indo-Pacific.
The Indo-Pacific, through which a large part of world maritime trade passes, is the scene of territorial disputes in the China seas and against the background of the Taiwan crisis, which Beijing considers a rebel province and does not rule out invading. EFE
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