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US will not desert Australia in dispute with China, Blinken says
- Washington ‘will not leave Australia alone on the field … in the face of economic coercion’ from Beijing, US secretary of state says
- Australia ‘won’t compromise on our national security or our sovereignty’ its foreign minister says
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The United States will not leave Australia to face economic coercion from China alone and Beijing’s treatment of America’s allies will hinder efforts to improve relations between the two countries, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday.
While his comments echoed those of Kurt Campbell, Joe Biden’s Indo-Pacific coordinator, political observers said Blinken had opted for a softer tone.
Last week, tensions between China and Australia were ratcheted up a notch, when Beijing indefinitely suspended a strategic economic dialogue with Canberra, amid a year-long slump in relations that has seen Beijing impose a number of trade sanctions on Australian exports, including wine and coal.
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“I reiterated that the United States will not leave Australia alone on the field, or maybe I should say alone on the pitch, in the face of economic coercion by China,” Blinken told a press briefing in Washington during the visit of Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne.
“And we’ve made clear to the PRC [People’s Republic of China] how such actions targeting our closest partners and allies will hinder improvements in our own relationship with China,” he said.
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