U.S.-Australian unity vowed
Mattis, Tillerson visit ally to talk ISIS, North Korean nukes
SYDNEY — In their first joint appearance abroad, U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson today pledged unity with longtime ally Australia in fighting Islamic extremists who seek to intimidate the West.
“We are united, as I said, in our resolve, even against an enemy that thinks by hurting us they can scare us,” Mattis said. “Well, we don’t scare.”
Mattis and Tillerson spoke alongside their Australian counterparts at the opening of a joint meeting expected to touch on a range of subjects including defeating the Islamic State, stabilizing Afghanistan and dealing with North Korea’s nuclear threats. They planned to hold a joint news conference later.
Tillerson stressed the enduring U.S.-Australian alliance and said it will prevail in “this common fight we share against the most heinous of actions we’ve seen most recently in London yet again.” He did not elaborate on the London attack.
Seven people were killed and at least 48 were hospitalized after a van carrying three attackers crossed London Bridge, striking pedestrians, before the men stabbed others Saturday. Police fired 50 bullets, killing the three attackers and wounding one bystander.
In her opening remarks, Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said “countering terrorism” would be high on the meeting’s agenda.
“The global terrorist threat is ever evolving, we’ve seen brutal attacks in a number of European cities, we’ve thwarted attacks here in Australia, and so we want to discuss with you, the links back into the Middle East, the role we’re playing with you in Iraq and Syria and also Afghanistan,” Bishop said. “We are united in our resolve to defeat ISIS, the Islamic State terrorist organization and its ilk.”
Australian Defense Minister Marise Payne said her government is concerned by Islamic State links in Asia and the Pacific.
“For Australia, from our perspective today it’s important that we do discuss ISIS’ links in Southeast Asia, violent extremist organizations and the risk that returning foreign fighters who may endeavor to resume positions in their own countries might pose in this region,” Payne said. “They’ll come back with battlefield skills, they’ll come back with hardened ideology, they’ll come back angry, frustrated, and we need to be very aware of that.”