Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Pence mends fences during Australia visit
Leaders urge China to step up on N. Korea
SYDNEY — U. S. Vice President Mike Pence and Australia’s prime minister Saturday swept aside any lingering tensions between the two nations and joined forces in urging China to take a bigger role in pressuring North Korea to scuttle its nuclear weapons and missile program.
After their meeting in Sydney, Pence and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull repeatedly praised the decadeslong American-Australian alliance. Pence passed along President Donald Trump’s “very best regards” and thanked Turnbull for calling on Beijing to be more assertive in the international effort to de-escalate Pyongyang’s nuclear threat.
Meeting at the governor-general’s residence with vistas of Sydney Harbor and the city’s famous opera house, the two leaders set aside anxieties sparked by a January dispute between Turnbull and Trump over a refugee-resettlement deal
that was struck by former President Barack Obama.
Trump’s anger over the agreement led to a tense phone call with Turnbull in January and an angry tweet in which the president called the deal “dumb.”
Pence said Saturday that the U.S. will honor the agreement even if the Trump administration doesn’t agree with it. Under the deal, the U.S. will accept up to 1,250 refugees being held by Australia on Papua New Guinea’s Manus Island and on the South Pacific island of Nauru.
The refugees are detained under policies to deter asylum seekers from attempting to reach Australia by boat, often on substandard fishing vessels provided by people smugglers in Indonesia. The policy has been condemned by human-rights groups.
The White House, although it has reluctantly accepted the terms of the deal, has insisted that the refugees arriving from Australian undergo “extreme vetting.”
“President Trump has made it clear that we’ll honor the agreement — that doesn’t mean we admire the agreement,” Pence said during a joint news conference with Turnbull.
“The decision to go forward can rightly be seen as a reflection of the enormous importance of the historic alliance between the United States and Australia,” Pence said.
The prime minister said that “whatever the reservations of the president are,” the decision “speaks volumes for the commitment, the integrity of President Trump, and your administration, sir, to honor that commitment.”
The fallout over the deal has strained the typically close alliance between the U.S. and Australia. A majority of Australians view Trump unfavorably, and some critics of him have urged Australia to distance itself from the U.S. in favor of stronger ties with China.
Turnbull has resisted pressure to choose between the two countries, both of which are considered vital allies. The U.S. is Australia’s most important security partner, while China is its most important trading partner.
Pence’s visit is part of his 10-day, four-country trip to the Pacific Rim.
Trump and Turnbull repeatedly referred to the nations’ long history of military cooperation. Australia has fought alongside the U.S. in every major conflict since World War I, and is one of the largest contributors to the U.S.-led military campaign in Iraq and Syria.
“We also stand with you and with President Trump in condemning the behavior, the criminal, abhorrent use of chemical weapons in Syria by [President Bashar] Assad’s regime,” Turnbull said. The U.S. and Australia are also partners, “fighting together with the common goal of utterly destroying” the Islamic State, he said.
The alliance was also front and center for Pence during his meetings with other top Australian officials. Australia’s Governor-General Peter Cosgrove said the relationship between the two countries is as strong as it has been since “the first time we saw each other on the battlefield in 1919.”
“Our friendship has been forged in the fire of sacrifice,” Pence said. “Around the world, we’re deepening our defense and security collaboration.”
Pence said his trip to Australia during the first three months of Trump’s administration and Trump’s plans to travel to Asia next fall are strong signs “of our enduring commitment” to that part of the world.
Pence and Turnbull said they are aligned in their opinion that China should use its leverage with North Korea to de- escalate the nuclear threat. Pence said the U.S. believes that it will be possible to peacefully end North Korea’s nuclear program, largely with the help of China.
Turnbull told reporters that North Korea’s “reckless and dangerous regime puts the peace and stability of our region at risk.”
“The eyes of the world are on Beijing,” he said.
Pence said “If China is unable to deal with North Korea, the United States and our allies will.”
Pence also said that while the Trump administration has pulled out of the Trans- Pacific Partnership trade agreement, which includes Australia, it still considers its bilateral trade deal with Australia to be a “model” and a “win-win” for both countries.
During his visit, Pence also made a number of cultural stops.
He joined Australia’s Foreign Minister Julie Bishop at the Australian Museum where he saw exhibits on crocodiles and snakes, and listened as one of the museum’s managers offered him a traditional Papua New Guinea Highlands welcome.
Also, Pence was to meet with the Australian opposition Labor Party leader Bill Shorten and with some business executives.
Pence and his family are to tour Sydney’s Opera House today, take a boat ride in the harbor and visit the city’s Taronga Zoo.