Australia could be asked to commit more to help the fight against Islamic State (Isis) militants, US president Barack Obama has indicated after after a bilateral meeting with prime minister Tony Abbott.
President Obama has recently authorised the doubling of US troop levels in Iraq further straining his pledge against committing “boots on the ground”.
After a meeting with Abbott on the sidelines of the Apec leaders summit in Beijing, Obama indicated allies could also be asked for more help.
“We are moving to a slightly different phase now, as we are setting that up, I am having conversations with Australia and other coalition partners that are already committed to putting trainers in to see how they can supplement and work with us in this overall effort,” he said.
Before he left for Beijing, Abbott said Obama’s approval of additional troops in Iraq was welcome but that there were no plans to chance Australia’s current commitment.
“Obviously we work in very close partnership with the United States, with the United Kingdom, with a number of other countries,” Abbott said. “This is a very broad coalition, it’s not just the United States.
“Our commitment is clear, it’s up to eight Super Hornet strike aircraft ... it’s up to 200 special forces. We have made a strong commitment to disrupting and degrading the ISIL death cult and we continue to talk with our partners and allies about how this is best achieved.”
On Friday, Obama ordered an additional 1,500 troops to Iraq on Friday to bolster the performance of Iraqi and Kurdish forces fighting Isis in ground combat. The training, the Pentagon said, is expected to last the better part of a year, raising questions about when the Iraqis will be able to wrest territory away from Isis.
The new US troops, the Pentagon emphasised, would not be used in a combat role, joining roughly the same number of “advisers” who have been performing a similar role in Iraq since June. Troop levels in Iraq will soon stand at about 3,000.
Earlier Monday, Abbott stepped back from his earlier promise to “shirtfront” the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, over Moscow’s response to the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, saying that the incident is just one of many subjects that will be discussed at upcoming top-level international conferences.
Abbott and Putin are both in Beijing for the Apec meeting and are expected to meet for bilateral talks. Putin will also travel to Brisbane for the G20 leaders summit next weekend.
“There is a big agenda here and conversations with the Russian president on a very important subject are only part and by no means the biggest part of the agenda that Australia is following here in Beijing and subsequently in Brisbane,” Abbott told reporters on Monday.
Abbott and Obama are not scheduled to have another bilateral meeting in Brisbane, when president Obama visits for the G20.
Australia’s Super Hornet combat aircraft in Iraq had flown 89 sorties and hit 14 targets, 11 of which were destroyed, defence officials said last week.
And the chief of joint operations, Vice Admiral David Johnston, said he was hopeful the 200 Australian special forces members would soon move into Iraq. They have been in the United Arab Emirates since September awaiting final clearance.
They would mostly be based in Baghdad and would advise and assist the Iraqi security forces’ counter-terrorism section, Johnston said.
