Wake-up call for Australia

Cosy US ties shaken by fiery Trump

AUSTRALIA was scrambling yesterday to come to terms with the realisation that decades as one of the closest US allies might count for little in the “America First” vision of President Donald Trump.

Australia has fought alongside the United States in most major conflicts since World War 2, including Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf War, Afghanistan and Iraq, and the current campaign against the Islamic State group.

But it took only a heated phone call from Trump to confirm Australia could expect to be treated no different from Mexico, Canada, Iran or anyone else who has felt public humiliation from Trump’s tongue and social media feed.

Trump’s ire was triggered by a vague agreement entered into by former president Barack Obama last year to take in refugees Australia has parked on remote Pacific islands.

The Washington Post said Trump abruptly cut short a fiery conversation with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on Sunday after slamming the refugee agreement.

Soon after leaks emerged on Thursday of “the worst call by far” Trump had had with Turnbull, the new president got to work.

“Do you believe it? The Obama administration agreed to take thousands of illegal immigrants from Australia. Why? I will study this dumb deal!” Trump tweeted.

Canberra, used to cosy security and political ties with successive US governments, did not see it coming despite plenty of warning, notably the uncomfortable time British Prime Minister Theresa May endured in Washington and the diplomatic crisis with Mexico.

Australia has to wake up to the new dynamic where “alliances don’t mean much to him [Trump]”, politics professor John Hewson told said.

“While we aren’t going to give up on the alliance, we should realistically say, ‘Look, what can we expect this guy to do moving forward?’”

And Trump had shown “it’s not just America first but also America only”, the ex-Liberal opposition leader said.

The difficulty of handling Trump was on display again within hours and his pendulum seemed to swing as he declared his “love for Australia”.

“I have a lot of respect for Australia, I love Australia as a country,” Trump said, suggesting people should not worry about the tough calls he was making.

As the dust settled, Turnbull told reporters in Sydney yesterday he still thought he had a deal.

“The [White House] spokesman said that we had a very cordial conversation,” the prime minister said.

“The president made a commitment to honour the deal that had been entered into by his predecessor. That’s been confirmed now . . . and it’s very important that it goes ahead.” — AFP