Australia is being counted on to use its influence as a close US ally to urge Washington to do more in the Indo-Pacific region and acknowledge it as the “cauldron of the future”.
Kurt Campbell, a former US deputy secretary of state, said he believed Anthony Albanese would make an appeal to Donald Trump to continue a “strong partnership” with Australia in the Pacific.
The prime minister is yet to lock in a first face-to-face meeting with the US president as he prepares to travel to New York in coming days for the UN General Assembly.
Mr Albanese will seek to reaffirm support for the AUKUS security partnership with the US and UK, under which Australia has been promised at least three Virginia-class submarines in the early 2030s.
Jitters remain over the nuclear-submarine deal as the Pentagon undertakes a review of AUKUS due to concerns over shortages of the US boats.
Addressing the National Press Club in Canberra on Tuesday, Dr Campbell said there was a view the “lion’s share” of the 21st century’s history would be written in the Indo-Pacific.
“The honest truth is that I’m counting on Australia to make exactly these arguments, that the United States has to do more, has to devote more of its time and attention, and recognise that this is the cauldron of the future,” he said.
“No country – I’ve witnessed it myself – punches so far above its weight in Washington than Australia.”
As Australia remains on track to sign a new defence treaty with Papua New Guinea amid regional concerns of Chinese expansion, Dr Campbell said he expected the competition to continue.
“I do not believe that China’s pattern of engagement or practices among the Pacific Islands in any way will halt or diminish,” he said.
“It is incumbent on the United States to work in closer partnership with Australia, with New Zealand, with Japan, with other countries in Europe who are committed to maintaining a Pacific that is at peace.”
He said the group of countries needed to address central issues that define daily life in the region such as climate change, societal resilience and illegal fishing.
The Asia Group chair also said Australia could play a critical role in helping “bridge some of the gaps” that emerged during the recent unravelling of the relationship between India and the US.
The Trump administration slapped punitive tariffs of 50 per cent on Indian goods, including a 25 per cent penalty for New Delhi’s refusal to stop buying Russian oil as the war in Ukraine drags on.