13 September 2023Biden brings America "back" to Asian allies and partnersBy Victoria Cooper, Research Editor At the top of his presidency in February 2021, President Biden declared “America is back. Diplomacy is back at the center of our foreign policy... We will repair our alliances and engage with the world once again, not to meet yesterday's challenges, but today's and tomorrow's.” The president's recent trips to the G20 summit in New Delhi, India and to Hanoi, Vietnam have only confirmed that commitment to re-engagement, with the United States strengthening its relationships across Asia. President Biden seized on the conspicuous absence of Chinese
President Xi Jinping (for the first time since 2012) and Russian President Vladimir Putin from this year’s G20 summit as an opportunity to prove the United States a more reliable partner than its authoritarian counterparts. As a counterweight to Beijing’s infrastructure and development programs, the United States lauded plans for a multinational ‘transport corridor’ set to link railways and ports in the Middle East to South Asia and enhance trade connectivity. US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said the Biden administration's vision for far-reaching investments demonstrates effective American leadership,
while other G20 officials praised the plan as an exemplar of growing trust between partners. Following on from the summit, the United States forged a historic new comprehensive strategic relationship with Vietnam. The upgraded partnership makes the United States one of Hanoi’s closest partners, alongside China, marking a significant step in the progress of the US-Vietnam relationship “from conflict to normalisation,” as Biden remarked during his trip. This step is the latest in the progression of the fast-deepening US-Vietnam relationship, with the two countries together seeking diversified supply chains and sharing concerns over China’s military aggression in the South China Sea.
NEWS WRAPBiden impeachment probe official Biden impeachment inquiry | Immediately upon return from the August recess, Republican House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy announced an impeachment inquiry into President Biden in relation to his son Hunter Biden’s business dealings. In lieu of a formal House vote, the speaker’s announcement seems an effort to
head off rebellion from far-right House members ahead of major government spending negotiations. READ MORE HERE
U.S. et al. v. Google | The US Department of Justice (DOJ) antitrust trial against Google began today. The DOJ accuses the company of using its monopoly over online search engines to unfairly cut off its competitors. Experts point to the DOJ case against Microsoft in 2001 as an expected roadmap for how the department will handle this case. READ MORE
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McCarthy’s tough September | There are only 17 days left for Speaker McCarthy to get the House Freedom Caucus ready to vote for the appropriations bills needed to avoid government shutdown on 1 October. For Speaker McCarthy, the challenge is to not only get Republican members in line, but to survive a potential challenge to his leadership. READ MORE HERE
Police officers charged | Five former police officers involved in the fatal beating of 29-year-old Black man Tyre Nichols at a traffic stop in Memphis have been indicted by a federal grand jury. Nichols’ death in January 2023 reignited the US debate about police and justice reform. READ MORE HERE
- Tuberville’s Pentagon blockade | Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville this week met the rare public ire of top Pentagon officials for endangering US service members and the future of the military workforce. The senator has mounted a months-long blockade of more than 300 military promotions, including the replacement of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley who must retire by 1 October 2023. READ MORE HERE
Sydney International Strategy Forum
New speakers addedThe United States Studies Centre (USSC) at the University of Sydney is excited to announce the addition of new keynote speakers and panellists to its inaugural Sydney International Strategy Forum on 1 November 2023. The inaugural Sydney International Strategy Forum brings together prominent thought leaders, policymakers and industry experts to tackle the big issues confronting Australia, the United States and the Indo-Pacific. From bolstering supply chain resilience to turning AUKUS into reality, the forum will discuss the enormous opportunities and risks posed by such cross-cutting challenges and what they mean for the future of our region. Read more here. Tickets are still available, but strictly limited. Register now to secure your spot. TYPE
Conference
WHERE
Four Seasons Hotel Sydney, 199 George Street, The Rocks NSW
WHEN
SYDNEY | 1 November 2023. 8.30am–4.30pm COST
Ticket prices Student: $180 Full price: $560
ADDITIONAL KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
The Hon. Madeleine King MP is the Minister for Resources and Minister for Northern Australia. She was one of the inaugural leaders of the Perth USAsia Centre, helping to amplify the Western Australian voice in the regional foreign policy dialogue.
Senator the Hon. Simon Birmingham is Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs and Leader of the Opposition in the Senate. He has served in multiple ministry roles including Minister for Finance and Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment.
Rep. Akihisa Nagashima is the Japanese Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs and is ranking member of the Japanese House Committee on Foreign Affairs. He is also a visiting professor in the Graduate School of Public Policy of Chuo University.
Ambassador Kristen Silverberg is a former US Ambassador to the European Union and Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs. She is President and Chief Operating Officer at Business Roundtable, an association of more than 200 CEOs of America's leading companies.
Dr Zack Cooper is a Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. Previously he worked as assistant for to the deputy national security adviser for combatting terrorism at the White House National Security Council.
- OPPORTUNITY | Women in the Alliance network
The USSC is now inviting expressions of interest for the inaugural Women in the Alliance Network. The network brings together a group of professional women working across industries related to the Australia-US relationship and will provide exclusive opportunities to advance their careers and amplify their expertise. MORE INFORMATION
- PODCAST | India's strategic evolution
In this week's episode of The Asia Chessboard, hosts USSC CEO Dr Michael J. Green and Jude Blanchette are joined by regional experts to discuss India's evolving foreign policy strategy and its changing relationship with neighbouring countries. LISTEN HERE
- REPORT | Collective deterrence and the prospect of major conflict
Non-Resident Senior Fellow Ashley Townshend and guest contributors David Santoro and Toby Warden provide practical insights on, and recommendations for, the alliance's approach to collective deterrence, force posture integration, extended nuclear deterrence and strategic interaction with China. READ IT HERE
- TRACKER | Where the ‘other’ 2024 Republican candidates stand on Australia and the world
Research Associates Samuel Garrett and Ava Kalinauskas track the foreign policy positions of the major Republican candidates, including their positions on AUKUS, trade, support for Ukraine, competition with China and the US-Australia alliance. READ IT HERE
A tough fight with the fifth-tightest House majority By Victoria Cooper, Research Editor When the Republican Party only managed a narrow 10-seat majority (222-212) in the House of Representatives after the 2022 midterm elections, the tightest margin in almost a century, it was clear the next two years of legislating were going to be a tough fight for the 118th Congress. This month’s episode of brinkmanship over government spending, with the three dozen House Freedom Caucus members holding hostage 11 appropriations bills in exchange for a cap to “reckless government spending”; movement on culture wars issues; and a (now successful) call for a formal impeachment inquiry into the Biden family, marks just the latest instalment in Congress’ woes with the House Republican’s small margin. It was only about four months ago that Speaker McCarthy sailed to a speakership-career high point forging the Fiscal Responsibility
Act in negotiation of the debt-ceiling with President Biden and winning an unexpected 149 votes from his party. But the moment only came after the speaker wore months of politicking that forced the President’s involvement in the debt-ceiling fight and came at the cost of extra grievances from House Freedom Caucus members who felt betrayed by McCarthy’s negotiation. Less than nine months ago, the then-aspiring speaker faced 14 failed votes in efforts to ascend to the gavel, with stonewalling from the party’s far-right flank causing the most drawn-out speakership battle since before the Civil War (the 1839 election of speaker took 63 ballots). The speaker’s eventual success was struck with a risky ultimatum, and McCarthy agreeing to ‘a motion to vacate’ clause, which now appears to be putting McCarthy’s leadership in the most fragile position to date. Narrow margins in the US House of Representatives are nothing new and are, in fact, becoming more common. However, the 107th Congress (2001–2003), with a similar 10-seat Republican majority, would suggest tight margins do not inherently condemn the House to such fracture and stagnation. In its two years, the 107th Congress passed significant legislation — the No Child Left Behind education law, overhauls to campaign financing rules, and, in the wake of the 9/11 terror attacks, a raft of legislation including the Patriot Act. But the equal-fifth-tightest House margin in US history clearly presents a different case, with members of the Republican party currently unable to reach enough agreement to
even pass the usually routine spending bills needed to keep the government in action. With only 11 working days left to avoid shutdown, McCarthy may well need a miracle to walk away with a funded government (or, at least, a continuing resolution) and his leadership still intact.
BONUS CONTENT | Listen to the latest episode of the USSC Briefing Room to hear USSC CEO Dr Michael J Green discuss what it was like inside the White House on 9 September, 2001. LISTEN HERE
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