By IANS
Canberra : Australia will no longer take part in joint strategic dialogues with the US, Japan and India, Foreign Minister Stephen Smith has assured visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi.
At a press conference jointly addressed by them here Tuesday, Smith reiterated the new Labor government’s opposition to further strategic dialogues among Australia, the US, Japan and India.
China was irked last year at Japan’s moves to expand the strategic dialogue to include India.
“One of the things which caused China concern last year was a meeting of that strategic dialogue plus India, which China expressed some concern with. And I indicated when I was in Japan that Australia would not be proposing to have a dialogue of that nature,” Smith said.
“When I first became foreign minister, I made the point that we have a good relationship with India, but we need to take that relationship as well to a higher level, but we’re not proposing to have a dialogue along the lines as occurred last year.
“And I think the United States has indicated a similar disposition in recent weeks and I think that’s been welcomed by all concerned.”
The Australian foreign minister said, “With China, we have an emerging relationship based for a long period of time on our early recognition of China as one nation, on the economic complimentarity between our two nations and today we see the relationship going to another level, a strategic dialogue. And so we will continue at a trilateral level, that strategic dialogue (with Japan and the US).”
On the Australia-Japan-US relations, Smith said during his recent visit to Tokyo he had indicated to the Japanese government that “Australia proposes to continue the Australia, US, Japan dialogue. And there’s a good reason for that. With Japan, we have a long-standing economic, strategic and security partnership.”
On climate change, Smith said that Australia strongly believed that the Kyoto Protocol and the Bali Conference provided the framework or the road map for future work.
Smith said, “We very strongly believe that all developed, and developing nations, have to make their contribution, and play their part. That’s why it’s just as important for the United States and Australia, as it is for China and India, to be committed to emissions cuts, to see a long-term attack made on emissions and dangerous climate change, and global warming.”