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Come on down: Abbott says Coaltion would welcome US bases in Australia
September 03, 2011
THE opposition would support home-basing of US warships in northern Australia, according to Tony Abbott.
Australian and US officials are involved in intense discussions over an increased US military presence in northern Australia, and these discussions are believed to include the possibility of eventually home-porting one or more US ships in Australia.
In his first extended foreign policy interview as Opposition Leader, Mr Abbott said: "I'd welcome it." If he became prime minister and the US made such a proposal, "my instinct would be to find a way of saying yes".
Mr Abbott also said he would continue to receive the Dalai Lama when the Tibetan spiritual leader visited Australia.
This would be sure to cause protests from Beijing.
"I would expect to continue to see the Dalai Lama if he was in Australia and he was interested in catching up for a cup of tea," Mr Abbott said. "The Dalai Lama is a legitimate representative of the people of Tibet and a significant spiritual leader."
Mr Abbott outlined a positive agenda for relations with China, which he said he would want to take as far as they could go.
However, he also pledged that as prime minister he would raise human rights concerns publicly with the Chinese leadership.
He said: "Historically, China has been pretty brutal towards Tibet and towards domestic groups like Falun Gong and
I think it's right and proper for Australian leaders to note our disagreement with them on these points.
"We should be under no illusions about the value system of the Chinese state. This doesn't mean we can't work with the Chinese government very effectively, but when it comes to human rights their standards aren't ours and we shouldn't apologise for our standards or be mealy mouthed about them."
Mr Abbott also called on China to display openness in its military development.
The Opposition Leader said the Gillard government had taken the "Hawker Britton style" of elevating the media cycle above policy substance to the international stage.
The government had failed to develop relations with India, he said, accusing it of a "great mistake" in cancelling a quadrilateral security dialogue involving India, Japan, the US and Australia, as well as reversing the Howard government's decision to sell uranium to India.
"India has been the neglected emerging superpower," Mr Abbott said. "It would be an important priority of the next Coalition government to strengthen our relationship with India."
Asked about his attitude to a UN resolution, opposed by Israel and Washington, that would unilaterally declare an independent Palestinian state, Mr Abbott said: "My instinct would be to do nothing which would prejudice the continued, viable existence of Israel.There are a number of countries in the world which are very close to Australia in values and outlook and Israel is one of them. Israel is under existential threat in a way that probably no other country on Earth is and it does no good for Australia to seek brownie points with other countries by trifling with Israel's security."
Come on down: Abbott says Coaltion would welcome US bases in Australia | The Australian
September 03, 2011
THE opposition would support home-basing of US warships in northern Australia, according to Tony Abbott.
Australian and US officials are involved in intense discussions over an increased US military presence in northern Australia, and these discussions are believed to include the possibility of eventually home-porting one or more US ships in Australia.
In his first extended foreign policy interview as Opposition Leader, Mr Abbott said: "I'd welcome it." If he became prime minister and the US made such a proposal, "my instinct would be to find a way of saying yes".
Mr Abbott also said he would continue to receive the Dalai Lama when the Tibetan spiritual leader visited Australia.
This would be sure to cause protests from Beijing.
"I would expect to continue to see the Dalai Lama if he was in Australia and he was interested in catching up for a cup of tea," Mr Abbott said. "The Dalai Lama is a legitimate representative of the people of Tibet and a significant spiritual leader."
Mr Abbott outlined a positive agenda for relations with China, which he said he would want to take as far as they could go.
However, he also pledged that as prime minister he would raise human rights concerns publicly with the Chinese leadership.
He said: "Historically, China has been pretty brutal towards Tibet and towards domestic groups like Falun Gong and
I think it's right and proper for Australian leaders to note our disagreement with them on these points.
"We should be under no illusions about the value system of the Chinese state. This doesn't mean we can't work with the Chinese government very effectively, but when it comes to human rights their standards aren't ours and we shouldn't apologise for our standards or be mealy mouthed about them."
Mr Abbott also called on China to display openness in its military development.
The Opposition Leader said the Gillard government had taken the "Hawker Britton style" of elevating the media cycle above policy substance to the international stage.
The government had failed to develop relations with India, he said, accusing it of a "great mistake" in cancelling a quadrilateral security dialogue involving India, Japan, the US and Australia, as well as reversing the Howard government's decision to sell uranium to India.
"India has been the neglected emerging superpower," Mr Abbott said. "It would be an important priority of the next Coalition government to strengthen our relationship with India."
Asked about his attitude to a UN resolution, opposed by Israel and Washington, that would unilaterally declare an independent Palestinian state, Mr Abbott said: "My instinct would be to do nothing which would prejudice the continued, viable existence of Israel.There are a number of countries in the world which are very close to Australia in values and outlook and Israel is one of them. Israel is under existential threat in a way that probably no other country on Earth is and it does no good for Australia to seek brownie points with other countries by trifling with Israel's security."
Come on down: Abbott says Coaltion would welcome US bases in Australia | The Australian
