VIDEO

 Enduring Economic Partners​
Part 1

Were you unable to make it to our special event "Enduring Economic Partners: 15 years of the Australia-US Free Trade Agreement" featuring many of the officials who created the landmark agreement, including former Australian Prime Minister John Howard? The event also included special video messages from Prime Minister Scott Morrison and US Ambassador to Australia AB Culvahouse Jr.

You can now watch the full webinar on our YouTube channel!

NEWS WRAP

Doubling down on the alliance

• Australia banks on US alliance in resisting China
  Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne and Defence Minister Linda Reynolds have met with their US counterparts in Washington DC, for the annual AUSMIN meeting. Non-Resident Senior Fellow Dr John Lee says Australia is “reaching out of its comfort zone and looking to help alter the balance of power in the Indo-Pacific,” arguing that Australia has “doubled down on the [US] alliance as its best option” to push back against China. READ MORE HERE
   

• China seizes US Chengdu consulate
  China has seized the US Chengdu consulate as the latest retaliation in the diplomatic stoush between the two countries. It comes in response to the closure of the Chinese consulate in Houston amid allegations it was part of a larger Chinese espionage ring using diplomatic facilities around the United States. READ MORE HERE
   

• Senior White House advisor tests positive for COVID-19
  US National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien has tested positive for coronavirus, making him the most senior White House official known to contract the virus. He was due to participate in the AUSMIN consultations this week. In response, the Trump administration released a statement assuring there has been “no risk of exposure to the president or vice president”. READ MORE HERE
   

• Biden to pick VP candidate next week
  Less than three weeks out until the Democratic National Convention, Joe Biden has said he will announce his running mate during the “first week in August” – next week. “I’m going to have a choice the first week in August and I promise I’ll let you know when I do,” the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee told reporters. Non-Resident Senior Fellow Bruce Wolpe outlined the latest shortlist and the most viable candidates were discussed in a recent USSC Vice-presidential sweepstakes webinar. READ MORE HERE
   

• Republican Senators at odds over COVID stimulus package
  Republicans in the US Senate are divided over the scope and scale of the next proposed coronavirus-aid package. Some Republicans warn of the high stakes at play in rolling out the US$1 trillion stimulus package, arguing its reception could determine the control of the Senate and the White House in the November election. READ MORE HERE

ANALYSIS

Australia, AUSMIN and the South China Sea

Ashley Townshend
Director, Foreign Policy and Defence

Canberra, like Washington, is moving to adopt a more active role in deterring and pushing back against China’s coercive statecraft in the Indo-Pacific. But the two countries are not symmetrically aligned on all aspects of China policy. While the Trump administration has adopted an increasingly confrontational stance that casts the Chinese Communist Party as an ideological rival, Australia has sought to minimise rhetoric that alienates other regional countries and has, instead, focused on practical efforts to bolster collective resilience against Chinese coercion.

Australia’s rejection of China’s illegal maritime claims in the South China Sea should be read as an expression of Canberra’s growing willingness to directly support Southeast Asian partners, not as a case of Australia following America’s lead. Indeed, Australia’s 2020 Defence Strategic Update makes clear that Australia will play a more active role in independently shaping the Indo-Pacific security environment because it is in our direct national interests to bolster a favourable balance of power in the region – and because Australian policymakers recognise that the United States can no longer uphold the regional order by itself. Forging a collective regional strategy is in all of our interests. But for Australia, this won’t be defined in strictly ideological terms.

COVID-19: BY THE NUMBERS

Percentage of nursing home-related deaths
US 45% | AUS 44% 

The current daily per cent increase in COVID-19 cases is higher in Australia (2.4) than the United States (1.25). However, one indicator which has remained remarkably consistent across both countries and throughout the duration of the pandemic is the high percentage of coronavirus-related deaths occurring in nursing homes. Tensions have risen today with both the Australian Government and Victorian Government making statements. 

To track the latest trends and numbers, visit our COVID-19 tracker HERE.

VIRTUAL EVENT

Has China pushed India closer to the US and its allies?

Last month, Indian and Chinese troops were involved in the first clash involving the loss of life on both sides since 1975 in Eastern Ladakh. While both sides are taking steps to de-escalate tensions, the ongoing crisis may have fundamentally altered New Delhi’s view of Beijing. The profound strategic ramifications of this could see India shift decisively towards the United States and its allies such as Australia – giving new impetus and relevance to the Australia-US-India-Japan Quad.

To discuss these issues, please join us for a webinar event featuring Dr Lavina Lee, Senior Lecturer at Macquarie University; Professor C Raja Mohan, Director of the Institute of South Asian Studies; Greg Sheridan, foreign editor at The Australian; and Abhijit Singh, head of the Maritime Policy Initiative at the Observer Research Foundation in India in conversation with USSC Senior Non-Resident Fellow Dr John Lee.

Make sure to register to submit a question for the panel.

WHEN:
Friday 31 July 2020, 1pm AEST

COST: 
Free, but registration is essential

THE WEEK IN TWEETS

#AUSMIN2020