Australia’s ties with the United States was expected to stay solid following the presidential election, regardless of whether Donald Trump or Kamala Harris would win, though experts were assessing how the result may influence the broader political, economic, and security landscape in the Asia-Pacific region.
While the alliance between the two countries was expected to maintain its status quo, the new administration could affect how other nations interacted with Australia due to its foreign policies, Arthur Sinodinos, the former Australian ambassador to the U.S., said.
“The question is whether the relationship between the US and partners in Europe and the Indo-Pacific are impacted. The question is on how other relationships between America and other allies play out,” Sinodinos told AAP.
Speaking to reporters in Canberra, Foreign Minister Penny Wong emphasized that the federal government would continue to maintain a cooperative relationship with the U.S., regardless of which candidate won.
“We will work with whoever voters choose for president and also the Congress of the day in Australia’s interest to strengthen the alliance,” Wong said. “Historically, we’ve had an alliance for many, many years and this relationship is bigger than the events of the day.”
Wong shared that she had “a very good discussion” with Mike Pompeo, the former U.S. Secretary of State under the Trump Administration, during their meeting prior to the election, reported Reuters.
“One of the priorities for us to discuss was AUKUS, and we are very pleased at the sort of bipartisan support that we have seen,” she said.
Sinodinos, too, played down concerns about the future of the AUKUS submarine deal after President Joe Biden stepped down, affirming that the multibillion-dollar partnership would remain intact.
“There are question marks going forward, if there was a Trump presidency he might want more assurances with the industrial bases … but that’s speculation,” he said. “The bedrock is that AUKUS is supported by both sides of politics.”
The AUKUS deal, touted as Australia’s largest defense collaboration with the U.S., and the UK, was forged under the Biden Administration in 2023.
Wong also expressed confidence that the Quad group — made up of the U.S., India, Australia, and Japan — would continue to deepen cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region, regardless of the poll outcome.
Meanwhile, according to Lowy Institute director Michael Fullilove, Trump’s presidency would be “extremely discombobulating for us allies around the world.”
“Mr Trump is profoundly skeptical of alliances, he has a weird affinity for strongmen,” Fullilove stated. “It’s all personal and it’s all transactional so that affects the reliability the rest of the world associates with the US.”
