
US President Joe Biden meets Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at the White House. During this, both the leaders reiterated their commitment to strengthen the alliance.
After a meeting on Wednesday, the two leaders addressed a joint press conference in the White House Rose Garden. Speaking on the Indo-Pacific region, Biden said the alliance between Australia and the US “is a foundation of peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific and, frankly, around the world.”
“We see this through our work with Quad partners India and Japan to ensure that the Indo-Pacific remains free, open, prosperous and secure,” he said. I also look at it through AUKUS.” It is noteworthy that AUKUS is a trilateral security agreement between the UK, US and Australia, while the Quad Bloc includes the US, India, Japan and Australia. The President also took a tough stance on potential conflict in the South China Sea. He said last week, Chinese ships “acted dangerously and unlawfully as our Philippine friends conducted a routine resupply mission within their exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea.”
“I want to make clear that the United States’ defense commitment to the Philippines remains steadfast,” he said. Any attack on Filipino aircraft, ships or armed forces would invoke our mutual defense treaty with the Philippines.” For his part, Albanese agreed that securing the Indo-Pacific region is a high priority, adding that its neighbors His approach is to “cooperate where we can, disagree where we must, but remain engaged in our national interest.”
The Prime Minister praised Biden for working closely with Australian leaders to add a new level to their partnership. He said this was his ninth meeting with Biden since becoming Prime Minister 16 months ago. He also said AUKUS will ensure “peace and security in our region” and the US-Australia alliance is “increasingly working to advance the Indo-Pacific region bilaterally and with our partners in the Quad.”
The leaders also stressed that they are united against all acts of aggression, especially those of Russia and Hamas. They pledged to work together on finding ways to “stand with Israel” following the October 7 attack by Hamas.