US Senator John McCain on Tuesday urged more US-Australian military cooperation to deter Chinese aggression in the Asia-Pacific.
The senior Republican senator made the comments at a news conference with Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, who on Monday made her first visit to the White House since taking office last year.
Earlier, Gillard called for increased economic engagement in the Asia-Pacific, saying it was key to both nations’ future prosperity.
“I think the United States and Australia will be working more actively to make sure that there’s not any tensions in the region,” said McCain, the lead Republican on the Senate Committee on Armed Services.
McCain voiced concern over China’s 12.7 percent hike in defense spending for this year. He said the communist nation was conducting a military buildup and acting assertively in disputed regions such as the Spratly Islands — also claimed by several Southeast Asian nations.
Noting Beijing’s declaration that the South China Sea is its own “special zone,” McCain said the US and Australia should ensure that China observe the freedom of the seas.
“I do not predict any conflict, but I do say the best way to prevent that is for the United States and Australia to assert the basic principles of the conduct that all nations should adhere to,” the senator said.
He was speaking after touring with Gillard a photo exhibition on the 60-year-old Australia-US military alliance. Their forces fought together in the Vietnam War, and more recently in Iraq and Afghanistan. When US President Barack Obama received Gillard at the White House, he declared that the US has “no stronger ally than Australia.”
The US retains a strong military presence in the Asia-Pacific, including major bases in Japan and South Korea, and says it will do so for decades ahead, when China’s investment in missiles, navy and air force will pose an increasing challenge to its predominance.
Australia could prove an important partner in sustaining the US military footprint.
On Monday, Gillard alluded to that when she said alongside Obama: “There is so much more to do together in the future, including cooperating as America looks at its force posture.”
While both nations eye China’s rising stature with a degree of caution, they also want a stable relationship with the emerging Asian power.
Australia’s exports to China of natural resources such as coal, metal and minerals helped Australia weather the global crisis. China is also a major trading partner and creditor of the US, holding about US$1.2 trillion in Treasury securities.
Gillard told the US Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday that Australia had emerged from the downturn as the world’s strongest advanced economy. She said the Asia-Pacific region was increasingly the center of global growth and would be “critical” for the future prosperity both of her nation and the US.
Yesterday, Gillard was to address a joint meeting of Congress.
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