Australian defense and foreign ministers declared in Washington Tuesday that their country stands with the United States to resist China’s coercive economic and military actions in the Indo-Pacific, a show of force in the U.S. effort to gather Pacific allies to counter China’s aggressive behavior.
“We both want the same kind of region,” Foreign Minister Marise Payne told members of the media at a socially distanced State Department briefing alongside the Australian defense minister, U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
“We want it to be secure, we want it to be stable, we want it to be free, we want it to be prosperous,” she added.
That prosperity has much to do with strengthening defense relationships as countering Chinese malign influence, the leaders said.
Agreements were announced for a working group to study Chinese disinformation while the partners condemned Chinese tech dominance and violations of civil rights in Hong Kong.
“Today, we reaffirm the importance of working with partners to strengthen sovereignty and also resilience to coercion,” said Australian Defense Minister Linda Reynolds, noting forthcoming scientific defense cooperation in the area of hypersonics, electronic warfare, and space-based capabilities.
Pompeo said the two partners spent much time discussing the ambitions of the Chinese Communist Party in the Indo-Pacific.
“This isn’t about picking America versus China, this is about choosing freedom and democracy against tyranny and authoritarian regime,” he said. “We’ll keep working with our Australian partners to reassert the rule of law in the South China Sea.”
Esper commended Australia for its “bold new defense strategy” and noted a strategic military fuel reserve will be added to Darwin, Australia, where 2,500 Marines are based as part of a rotational troop presence.
Last week, Australia participated in multilateral naval exercises with the U.S. and Japan in the Philippine Sea and will participate in the Rim of the Pacific Exercise near Hawaii in August.
Both American leaders praised Australia for rejecting 5G technology produced by Chinese companies Huawei and ZTE.
The annual meetings that took place Monday and Tuesday between the four leaders reinforced international rejection of China’s maritime claims.
Australia has had its own run-ins with the Chinese in the disputed territory.
En route to recent joint military exercises with the U.S., five Australian Navy ships were met by the Chinese Navy when transiting an area outside 12 miles of the disputed Spratly Islands.
On Thursday, Australia outlined its South China Sea policy in a note verbale to the United Nations, declaring that it rejected any argument by China inconsistent with the 1982 U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea. That includes China’s arguments for historical claims, submerged land features, and artificial islands.
The note also rejected China’s April U.N. note verbale asserting that it has wide international recognition for its claims to the Spratly and Parcel islands, pointing out that Vietnam and Malaysia have lodged protests to those claims.
As the coronavirus grabbed world attention, China has stepped up its maritime bullying, U.S. defense officials have stated recently.
In response, the U.S. has instituted a full-court press in the South China Sea by both emphasizing U.S. policy and conducting military exercises in waters claimed by China.
While the Australian leaders chose not to dial up rhetoric in public, Reynolds indicated Australia’s own transiting of the South China Sea would continue.
“Our approach remains consistent, and we will continue to transit through the region in accordance with international law,” she said. Together, she said, the partners would work to “deter malign behavior in our region.”
