IRIA News

Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visited the U.S. for the first time since taking office. He met with U.S. President Joe Biden for the ninth time since becoming Prime Minister last year and pledged to further advance the bilateral relationship.

“Today we are taking our alliance even further,” Biden told reporters in the Oval Office as he prepared to host Albanese for closed-door talks on Wednesday. The meeting between the two leaders was part of an elaborate state visit from the Australian Prime Minister.

According to the White House, the visit underscored the “deep and enduring Alliance between the United States and Australia and the two nations’ shared commitment to supporting an open, stable, and prosperous Indo-Pacific.”

During their bilateral meeting, Biden and Albanese stressed the critical importance of the U.S.-Australia relationship and the importance of managing a competitive relationship with China Biden warned Beijing about its recent harassment of Philippine vessels in the South China Sea, however, Albanese took a rather careful approach while talking about China during the joint press conference in Washington.

The U.S. President is expected to meet China’s Xi Jinping in the coming weeks at the sidelines of the APEC summit in San Fransisco while the Australian Prime Minister would embark on his high-profile visit to Beijing and Shanghai in early November, where he would also meet China’s President.

Albanese would be the first Australian Prime Minster in the last seven years to visit China. He vowed to deliver some straight talk on China’s role in global affairs and express Canberra’s concerns about the human rights situation.

U.S. and Australia strengthen defense and technology partnership

During Prime Minister Albanese’s visit, the two allies announced a new era of U.S.-Australia strategic cooperation in critical sectors, including defense, technology, and climate. Australia and the U.S. have announced plans to deepen cooperation in fields such as biotechnology, quantum computing, cybersecurity, and clean energy among others.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also met with the new Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives and expressed hope that the U.S. Congress would pass legislation related to the AUKUS submarine project this year.

The United States plans to provide nuclear-powered submarines to Australia in the coming years under the trilateral AUKUS partnership between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In his meetings with President Biden, the Australian Prime Minister discussed the progress on the acquisition of nuclear-powered, conventionally armed submarines. He stated, “We are conscious that this is only the second time in history that the United States has shared this technology. This fact speaks to the deep trust in our alliance and the significance of the challenges we face together.”

In the technology sector, Microsoft has announced a $3 billion investment in Australia, expanding the tech giant’s data center and Artificial Intelligence (AI) infrastructure in Australia over the next two years. The company will also provide training for more than 300,000 Australians in the skills required for a cloud and AI-enabled economy.

The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) partnership will include $16.3 million for climate and clean energy research and $6.2 million in grants for AI. Australia and the United States have signed a space technology safeguards treaty that will allow the two countries to collaborate on space exploration and research and will support American space companies in launching vehicles from Australia.

The U.S.-Australia Alliance is more critical than ever.

This week, we made important progress ensuring tomorrow will be better than today.

And it’ll be more free, more fair, and for all people, because we have the power to make it so. pic.twitter.com/82f8JBr2s0

— President Biden (@POTUS) October 28, 2023

Describing climate and clean energy cooperation as the third pillar of their alliance, the U.S. and Australia have announced the establishment of the Climate, Critical Minerals, and Clean Energy Compact to enhance climate cooperation. The two countries have also launched a critical minerals task force to secure critical mineral supply chains. The investment in sustainable infrastructure includes $65 million for a subsea communication cable to enhance connectivity.

Support for Ukraine and Israel

At the joint press briefing, the two leaders showed their steadfast support for Israel and Ukraine. Biden began his remarks by addressing the Israel-Hamas conflict, saying Israel has an “added burden” to try to protect innocents as Hamas is “hiding behind Palestinian civilians.” 

“Israel has the right, and I would add, responsibility, to respond to the slaughter of their people, and we will ensure Israel has what it needs to defend itself against these terrorists, that’s a guarantee,” Biden said.

“We also have to remember that Hamas does not represent, let me say it again, Hamas does not represent the vast majority of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip or anywhere else. Hamas is hiding behind Palestinian civilians and it is despicable, and not surprisingly, cowardly as well. This also puts an added burden on Israel while they go after Hamas. But that does not lessen the need to operate and align with the laws of war,” he added.

Albanese highlighted that the two ongoing conflicts directly affect the liberal democracies of the world. He said that Australia holds shared ideals with both Israel and Ukraine. “In today’s uncertain world, the alliance between Australia and the United States and the way that we stand steadfast against aggression, whether it be Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, or whether it be Hamas’ terrorist attack on Israel, is something that can be relied upon for us to stand up for our common values,” he said.

The discussions about the violent conflicts also overshadowed the lavish state dinner, prompting First Lady Jill Biden to tone down the entertainment. Originally the B-52s band was scheduled to perform at the dinner, but following the events in Israel, and Washington’s support for it, the music program was canceled.