Malcolm Turnbull has used his final bilateral meeting with Barack Obama before the US president departs from office to thank him for cooperating with Australia on humanitarian issues in the region, including the refugee resettlement deal.
The two leaders met on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Peru, and Obama expressed confidence during the discussion that Australia’s postwar alliance with the US would remain “as robust as ever” despite the election of Donald Trump.
Turnbull later told reporters travelling with him in Peru that Obama wanted Trump to succeed, and he wanted key allies of the US to assist with the transition.
“He wants America to do well, America to succeed and that’s why he’s reached out to the president-elect to offer his support and he’s encouraged all of us, he’s encouraged me and other leaders to do exactly the same,” Turnbull said on Monday.
The Australian prime minister has not sought to put any public distance between his government and Trump since the Republican’s upset victory, welcoming a proposed military buildup in the region, and blasting Labor for expressing a more hedged view about the Trump administration.
But Turnbull adjusted his language slightly in Peru, emphasising that Australia would prioritise its national interest in dealing with the new administration.
“Now we all want to get behind president Trump and do everything we can to ensure he is successful. We, of course, will always, as we do that, be defending Australia’s interest,” Turnbull said. “We don’t compromise our national interest.
“I’m here to represent Australia, Australian jobs and the economic growth that we seek to deliver to ensure the future for our Australian children and grandchildren as part of this very dynamic Asia-Pacific region.”
In Canberra, the shadow foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, stood her ground in arguing Australia needed to pursue an independent foreign policy within the alliance framework.
“For Labor, the US alliance has never meant that we reflexively agree with every aspect of US policy,” Wong told the Australian Institute of International Affairs on Monday.
“Gough Whitlam did not agree with the US on the Vietnam War and Simon Crean did not agree with the US on the invasion of Iraq. These Labor positions were subject to vicious attacks by conservatives at the time, but history has vindicated our positions.
“In the coming period, we need to consider how best to continue to effect Australia’s foreign policy and global interests within the framework of our alliance with the United States.”
Turnbull in Peru expressed confidence that Australia would be able to manage its two key foreign policy relationships – the US and China – despite Trump’s clear signal of an increased military presence in the region, and his regular campaign threats of the trade war with Beijing.
He said world leaders understood they needed to work together to deliver harmony and economic growth. “We all need each other to work together. We have only got one planet. We’ve only got one Asia-Pacific.”
“I’m confident, as we have done for many years, we’ll maintain a very strong and trusted ally in Washington and a very good friend in Beijing,” Turnbull said.
Australia had been a vocal public supporter of the Obama-led Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact, but given Trump’s trenchant opposition to the deal, the Turnbull government last week signalled it would pursue Chinese-led trade agreements in the region.
During a lengthy press conference at the conclusion of the Apec summit, Obama lamented the loss of momentum for American-led trade pacts in the Asia-Pacific.
He did not identify the two Chinese-led trade pacts which now seem set to substitute for the TPP, but he referred to “calls for a less ambitious trade agreement in the region with lower standards, lower protections for workers, lower protections for the environment”.
“That kind of agreement would obviously exclude US workers and businesses and access to those markets so, for all those reasons, I believe that TPP is a plus for America’s economy, America’s workers, American jobs,” Obama said on Monday.
He said a withdrawal of American-led economic diplomacy from the region would be consequential. “I think not moving forward would undermine our position across the region and our ability to shape the rules of global trade in a way that reflects our interests and our values.”
Obama continued to argue the world would have to wait and see on Trump. He said he could not “be sure of anything” about the new administration.
“People should take a wait-and-see approach in how much his policy proposals once in the White House, once he is sworn in, matches up with some of the rhetoric of his campaign.
“My simple point is that you can’t assume that the language of campaigning matches up with the specifics of governing legislation, regulations and foreign policy.
“Once you’re in the Oval Office, once you begin interacting with world leaders, once you see the complexities of the issues, that has a way of shaping your thinking and, in some cases, modifying your thinking.”
While Turnbull and Obama discussed the regional resettlement agreement covering refugees in detention on Nauru and Manus Island, it remains unclear whether the agreement will be honoured by Trump once he takes office on 20 January.
