Australia and India's foreign ministers said on Tuesday they were confident the Quad group of the U.S., India, Australia and Japan would continue to cooperate in the Indo-Pacific region regardless of the outcome of the U.S. presidential election.
Australia's Foreign Minister Penny Wong told reporters in Canberra she had met Mike Pompeo, who served as Secretary of State in the previous Trump Administration, ahead of the U.S. election and had "a very good discussion".
"One of the priorities for us to discuss was AUKUS, and we are very pleased at the sort of bipartisan support that we have seen," she said, referring to the defense technology partnership between Australia, Britain and the U.S. to transfer nuclear powered submarines to Australia.
Australia's most expensive defense project, the AUKUS deal was struck under the Biden Administration in 2023.
"In terms of the U.S. election, we will work with whomever the American people choose," she said.
China objects to the Quad grouping as an effort to contain it, while Australia, Japan, India and the U.S. say they are like-minded democracies seeking to bolster stability in the Indo-Pacific region.
The Quad leaders agreed in September to establish joint coast guard patrols and increased military logistics cooperation.
The Quad was "very valuable" in the region, Wong said. "We see it retaining its importance regardless of the outcome of the election," she added.
Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said the Quad was revived under the Trump presidency in 2017.
"When we look at the American election, we are very confident that whatever the verdict, our relationship with the United States will only grow," he said, on an official visit to Australia.
© Thomson Reuters 2024.
9 Comments
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Moonraker
You talked to who? Pompeo? What does he know? You'd have to be pretty naive to believe that, if Trump gets elected, nothing would change. He will assess whether it benefits him personally and, if not, things would definitely change. And, Australia, would you really be happy to be in partnership with a possible fascist dictatorship? China might even look more attractive if Trump undermines US democracy.
TaiwanIsNotChina
The US has a long way to go before it reaches China level dictatorship.
NOMINATION
Heard the same in 2016. Was he a fascist dictator then? Nope!
Moonraker
Some just believe what they wanna believe. If he gets in, check back in 4 years. But the real point is whether he can be trusted by allies (even personal ones). The answer to that is clear.
Fos
The only people who trust the US administration are the investors in Wall Street, getting massive shares of profits with the sales of weapons worldwide to foment one war after another. It’s going to be priceless, whoever wins the elections, see the country imploding. The two candidates are really the symbol of what America can offer.
Peter14
No allied nation trusts Trump, that was the case during his last tenure and will be again. They will likely lay as low as possible and wait for the next administration as they did last time.
Primusinter
As a variant, they, the allied nations, can "change their shoes". Your Western culture does not exclude it.
deanzaZZR
Modi certainly is a big winner here. Trump really seems to like him.
OssanAmerica
Australia, India and Japan aren't going to change their positions. The threat from China continues unabated. It's how Trump will behave since he has a history of damaging or wrecking any existing alliances and agreements. However, although the QUAD was concieved back in 2007 by then J-PM Abe, it was not until 2017 under the previous Trump administration that it really started to take shape. So there is a strong liklihood that Trump may feel like it's his "baby".