U.S. President Joe Biden and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will hold official talks on Oct. 25 to further enhance U.S. relations with Australia, a key partner for countering an increasingly aggressive Beijing in the Indo-Pacific region.
As Beijing continues to expand its influence in the Pacific, U.S. and Australia are expected to make a submarine cable project announcement and two maritime infrastructure announcements relevant to the Pacific Islands.
This could help to combat Chinese influence in the Pacific under the Pacific Deterrence Initiative (PDI). Under the PDI, the U.S. Department of Defense is prioritizing China as its preeminent pacing challenge and strengthening Indo-Pacific deterrence.
Strong Support
The United States is very much looking forward to the opportunity to stand closely by an Indo-Pacific ally at this important time, according to senior Biden administration officials. This is because Australia has been a strong support partner and provided the United States with unique and essential insights amid this geopolitical strengthening game in the Indo-Pacific.As part of the official state visit on Oct. 25, important research partnerships are expected to be announced along with discussions regarding AUKUS initiatives. Mr. Albanese and President Biden discussed the AUKUS partnership in San Diego earlier this year.
Amid delays with getting financial approval from Congress for AUKUS initiatives, President Biden will likely reassure Mr. Albanese that the United States will follow through on its commitments.
Further announcements widening trilateral relations between the United States, Australia, and Japan are also expected.
AI, Tech Innovation on the Agenda
President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden met for a private dinner with Mr. Albanese and his partner Jodie Haydon at the White House on Oct. 24.“Welcome to the White House,” Mr. Biden said as the two couples posed for photos in front of the residence.
This preceded an official state dinner to be held on the south lawn on Oct. 25 with entertainment and 100 guests.
“So, they’re going to be announcing new advanced technology cooperation, particularly on artificial intelligence,” Mr. Kirby said during a press briefing on Oct. 24.
“This tech innovation piece will also be highlighting a new space agreement that will allow U.S. companies to launch into space from Australia—so, pretty exciting there.
“We’re going to be committing to clean energy by building resilient, sustainable, and secure critical mineral supply chains.”
Mr. Kirby highlighted internet connectivity in the Pacific, AUKUS, the Middle East, and innovation would also be topics of discussion during the state visit.
This will include investing in undersea cable infrastructure in the Pacific and increasing defense cooperation to include trilateral cooperation with Japan.
“Again, continuing to work on this AUKUS implementation. AUKUS, as you know, is the trilateral agreement between Great Britain, the United States, and Australia to provide for Australia a nuclear-powered but conventionally-armed submarine capability,” Mr. Kirby said.
Mr. Kirby said the “President and First Lady” are very much looking forward to the state visit and there is a lot to discuss.
Mr. Albanese will head to China on Nov. 4 after his return from Washington, marking the first visit to China by an Australian prime minister since 2016.
The Biden administration said they “fully support” and understand the Australian prime minister’s meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
“Of course, [National Security Adviser] Jake Sullivan is going to be having—and the Secretary of State is going to be having meetings later this week with their Foreign Minister, Wang Yi,” Mr. Kirby said.
