By Neena Bhandari, IANS
Sydney : Australia and the US Saturday expressed their desire to work effectively with India to counter terrorism, drug trafficking and nuclear proliferation and noted the significance of the India-US civil nuclear cooperation initiative.
At the high-level annual Australia-US Ministerial (AUSMIN) consultations, both countries recognised that India’s stature as a democratic and prosperous country provides a unique opportunity to advance shared political, economic, and security interests in the region.
The consultations between Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Stephen Smith, Australian Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon, US Secretary of Defence Robert Gates and US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte reflected the global dimension of Australia-US cooperation.
Both sides reiterated their commitment to working together to confront contemporary security challenges, including the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and global terrorism.
A joint communiqué issued after the meeting said the two countries agreed on the need for constructive, long-term engagement with Pakistan. Both sides also commended Pakistan for its efforts in Afghanistan and its work to combat extremism.
Australia and the US welcomed China’s increased engagement in regional and global institutions, and encouraged it to continue to enhance its efforts to address contemporary challenges in a constructive manner.
They encouraged China to further build regional confidence in its intentions, including by adopting a transparent approach to its military modernisation, says the joint communiqué.
The two countries pledged to continue to work closely with Japan through the Trilateral Strategic Dialogue.
Earlier Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd had ruled out expanding the trilateral security dialogue to include India. Last year, China was irked at Japan’s moves to expand the strategic dialogue to include India.
Both countries called upon Fiji’s interim Prime Minister Bainimarama to adhere to his commitment to restore democratic government by holding elections no later than March 2009.
The ministers also called on the Myanmar regime to cooperate with UN envoy Ibrahim Gambari in starting a legitimate dialogue with democratic and ethnic minority groups.
Also discussed were plans for the mid-year withdrawal of Australian combat troops from southern Iraq. The Australian federal government confirmed this week that it would honour an election pledge to pull 550 combat troops out of southern Iraq by the middle of the year.
While making changes in Iraq, Australian Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon said: “We’ve made it very, very clear that our commitment in Afghanistan is a longstanding one.”
The two senior US officials are visiting Australia for the first time since the Kevin Rudd-led Labor Government came to power last November.
Australia has long been a close ally of the US. The former John Howard-led coalition government had provided staunch backing to the US-led war in Iraq.