The US believes its partnership with Australia “transcends politics” will remain strong regardless of whatever party wins the Australian election, the US officials said.
With an election looming in May, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has launched a political attack on opposition Labor Party leader Anthony Albanese over national security, alleging that the ruling Liberal Party will be harsher on China than Labor. According to security specialists, the two parties’ policies on China are identical.
Last week, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken travelled to Melbourne for a meeting of the Quad Group, which includes the US, Australia, India, and Japan. He also met with Prime Minister Morrison and Labor’s Albanese separately.
In a conference call with reporters, Daniel Kritenbrink, the US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, said Blinken was reassured by the Australian meetings.
In response to a question, he said, “We came away encouraged that these ideas that we hold dear and our very essential alliance transcend politics and any one party.”
“We walked away fully certain that whatever the Australian people decide as their next leader in the forthcoming election, the US-Australia partnership will persist and be as strong as ever.”
