WEBINAR | 1 September

The Alliance 70th anniversary

With distinguished guests former Prime Ministers Julia Gillard and John Howard

September 1 marks 70 years since the ANZUS Treaty was signed in San Francisco in 1951, the first major international treaty Australia entered independent of the British government.

Today, the alliance between Australia and the United States — and the deep, long-standing channels of trust and cooperation it has fostered — is being tasked with more issues and with more urgency than at any point in its 70-year history.

Both John Howard and Julia Gillard presided over critical phases of change in the Alliance, around 9/11 and its aftermath for Howard and the Obama administration’s “pivot to Asia” for Gillard. How did each leader view the Alliance given the geo-strategic and security challenges they faced?  How can their experiences of “Alliance evolution” inform the policy choices we face today? 

Please join us for a webinar with distinguished guests former Prime Ministers Julia Gillard and John Howard to discuss these issues. 

WHEN:
SYDNEY | Wednesday 1 September | 5:00-6:30pm AEST
PERTH | Wednesday 1 September | 3:00-4:30pm  AWST 

COST:
Free but registration is essential.

You can also subscribe to have event invitations and reminders sent straight to your inbox, so you never have to miss an event!

NEWS WRAP

Getting back on track

• After Afghanistan | Amidst increasing confusion about what went wrong, who is responsible and what can be expected next for the US withdrawal in Afghanistan, US allies remain concerned. Nonetheless, President Biden continues to stand by his 31 August deadline that would see the United States reduce its presence at Kabul airport and evacuate over 70,000 people since 14 August.  READ MORE HERE
   

• Dems turn up the heat | Despite in-party bickering, House Democrats passed (220 to 212) the US$3.5 trillion budget tackling the “human infrastructure” reforms from the American Jobs Plan – health care, education and tax laws – not covered by the US$1 trillion bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act which passed the Senate earlier this month. As Democrats continue to work out their differences on the bills, the budget resolution on the bipartisan bill will see a House vote by 27 September. READ MORE HERE
   

• School masking mandatory or violation | With US schools opening amid record COVID-19 case numbers among children, debate over COVID-19 protections has hit fever pitch. Some school districts have mandated mask wearing, regular COVID testing and vaccines for school staff. Others say this violates federal law. Florida governor and 2024 presidential hopeful Ron DeSantis has taken on several civil suits and threatening to cut state funding for school districts that do not comply with his orders banning mask mandates. READ MORE HERE
   

• Reassurance for allies | In Singapore this week, Vice President Kamala Harris delivered a major speech laying down the US line on China’s intimidation tactics in the South China Sea, saying the United States will “stand with our allies and our partners”. As the controversial US exit from Afghanistan continues, Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said international perceptions of the US will be determined by the country’s future actions. READ MORE HERE

ANALYSIS

Kamala Harris's Asia trip can't fix Biden's troubled Indo-Pacific strategy

Susannah Patton
Research Fellow, Foreign Policy and Defence
Dr Ashley Townsend
Director, Foreign Policy and Defence

When the White House announced that US Vice President Kamala Harris would visit Singapore and Vietnam in August, Asia watchers scratched their heads. Sure, Washington has ground to make up in Southeast Asia. But of the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, why return to two of the countries that US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin already visited in July?

The answer is simple: The Biden administration is playing it safe. This is not just to keep things easy for Harris, who has relatively little foreign-policy experience. The administration is aiming low because of underlying weaknesses in its approach to Asia, as we argue in a forthcoming United States Studies Centre report. For all the administration’s rhetoric about strategic competition with China, it has yet to present a serious Indo-Pacific policy—or its most important element, an effective economic strategy for the region. Had Harris visited countries other than the two US-friendly stops prepared by Austin, Washington would have had to put much more on the table to secure a warm welcome.

Singapore and Vietnam are safe options for a visit by an inexperienced vice president in a region fraught with potential pitfalls and challenges. Singapore is the only country in Southeast Asia that gives the United States reliable military access. Its leaders are the region’s savviest strategists, recognising a US military presence as necessary to preserve their own strategic autonomy and the broader regional balance. This makes Singapore eager to do what it can to enmesh the United States in the region.

This is an excerpt from Susannah Patton and Ashley Townsend's article published in Foreign Policy Magazine. 

BY THE NUMBERS

Aid to Afghanistan

Sarah Hamilton
Research Associate for Data Insights

Afghanistan received a considerable amount of official development assistance (global aid) over the last twenty years from a number of countries including the United States. However, other places in the region including Syria, West Bank and Gaza, Jordan, and Lebanon at times received significantly more development assistance per capita.

Data from the World Bank shows that in 2000 Afghanistan was receiving just $6.50 USD per person in official aid which more than doubled to $19 in 2001. 

International aid to Afghanistan was at its highest in 2011 where, per capita, the country received $224 by 2019 however, this had halved to $113 per person. 

As the Taliban closes Afghanistan's borders and NGOs and official agencies escape the country, it is expected that official aid to Afghanistan will plummet. 

VIDEO

Behind Trump the great and powerful

Last week The Washington Post's Carol Leonnig and Philip Rucker, authors of the new book and New York Times #1 best seller I Alone Can Fix It: Donald J. Trump's Catastrophic Final Year joined United States Studies Centre CEO Professor Simon Jackman and Non-Resident Senior Fellow Bruce Wolpe to discuss Trump's last year in office. 

If you missed the event, the full replay is now available to stream. Tune in HERE. 

Catch more analysis on the United States on the USSC YouTube channel.

THE WEEK IN TWEETS

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