Julie Bishop says there was no request for an enhanced Australian military contribution to the US-led coalition to counter Daesh during her first face-to-face meeting with the US vice-president, Mike Pence – and she suggested Australia’s contribution was appropriate at the present time.
Bishop told reporters in Washington on Wednesday she took the opportunity of her meeting with Pence to provide input into the vice-president’s strategic thinking about the military offensive against Islamic State but the prospect of a larger Australian military contribution was not flagged.
“We had quite a broad-ranging discussion– but I’m not going to go into any specific details obviously – but there is a review underway and Australia will continue to provide our input, our thoughts and our ideas on that matter,” Australia’s foreign affairs minister told reporters after the hour-long meeting.
Asked whether the conversation entertained the possibility of an enhanced or enlarged Australian military contribution, Bishop said: “No, it did not.”
The US president, Donald Trump, in late January ordered the Pentagon to deliver a new strategic plan within 30 days to defeat Islamic State. The revised plan is expected to be delivered to the White House next week.
The review has triggered speculation around the world about whether alliance partners, such as Australia, will be tapped for a greater military contribution. The new Trump-led strategy is also expected to widen the assessment of the fight against Islamic State to cover countries such as Afghanistan, Yemen and Libya, and places in south-east Asia.
The foreign affairs minister noted Australia was currently the third-largest contributor to the effort to defeat Islamic State in Iraq and Syria “and we’ve been there from the outset”.
“Of course, our deployment is always under review and I believe it is appropriate at this time,” Bishop said.
She confirmed that she had discussed the situation in Afghanistan with Pence and, while acknowledging troop commitments were always under review, Australia’s current contribution in Afghanistan was “appropriate at present”.
Bishop also indicated she had discussed tensions in the South China Sea with Pence and she said Australia remained committed to trying to de-escalate tensions.
She was also asked about the combative phone call between Trump and the prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, over the refugee resettlement deal, which was documented in detail in a report by the Washington Post at the beginning of this month.
Bishop was asked whether Pence had made an effort to smooth over any subsequent tensions and whether he expressed any regret about tone of the conversation, or the leaking of key details.
The foreign affairs minister said the issue didn’t come up and they had focused on areas where “we’re working together, areas where we have common challenges and where Australia and the United States can hopefully solve some of the issues confronting our region and globally”.
Bishop also confirmed discussions were underway on a visit by Turnbull to Washington later this year.
