ELLEN RANSLEY: Anthony Albanese sticks with NATO Plan A, but there was more on offer than just a Trump meeting

There would have been more to NATO than just a meeting with Donald Trump.

After a couple of days of consideration, and probably an acknowledgement that the uncertainty around the Israel-Iran crisis makes it possible the US President won’t ultimately attend, Anthony Albanese has decided to stick to Plan A and send his deputy Richard Marles in his place.

The latest round of volatility in an already unstable world should have been reason enough for the Prime Minister to attend. Finally securing the crucial face-to-face meeting with the President would have just been a bonus.

Traditionally, NATO has been focused on Europe and North America, but the convergence of security interests has prompted deepened ties between the bloc and the so-called “IP4” — Australia, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand, all who are invited to attend the annual summits.

Mr Albanese went to the Madrid iteration in 2022 and to Brussels in 2023, but left last year’s Washington event to Mr Marles.

The Japanese and New Zealand Prime Ministers are heading to The Netherlands, and the South Korean leader is also keeping the door open.

They have decided that in such a fraught, insecure and unpredictable world, and with the US President so unashamedly isolationist, it is in their best interests to be at the NATO summit. That Russia and China are seeking to grow their influence in our region underscores how linked NATO and the Indo-Pacific are.

Australia knows that it needs to deepen its alliances at every opportunity. So cognisant is the Government of this that at the G7 this week, Mr Albanese agreed to begin negotiations on a security and defence agreement with the European Union.

Australia needs to keep as close to NATO as possible. Mr Albanese’s attendance in The Netherlands would have gone a long way in reminding other world leaders that Australia is a serious middle power in the Indo-Pacific.

Even if an uncomfortable internal debate over NATO member countries’ defence spending might strike too close to home, given the US is putting pressure on Canberra.

Senior Coalition senator James Paterson said on Friday there were three reasons for the PM to head to the Netherlands even if there was no meeting with Mr Trump.

“The first is, we have a strong interest in the outcome of Russia’s war on Ukraine,” Senator Paterson said.

“We want Ukraine to win and we should be co-ordinating closely with our allies about the things we can do to support them.

“Secondly, we have a strong shared interest with our European partners on the outcome of what’s happening in Iran right now.

“We want Iran’s nuclear enrichment program to come to an end, as do they and we should be co-ordinating on that.

“And thirdly, it will give the Prime Minister an opportunity to consult with European partners on the importance of increasing defence spending, and they can tell him what the consequences are of failing to invest adequately in defence industry in peacetime, and hopefully he can heed that advice.”

As for when that Trump meeting might finally take place, there are a few options being considered to get it done sooner rather than later, sources say.

But with that crucial leader-to-leader relationship lacking, work is progressing elsewhere to make Australia’s case to the United States that we should be exempt from the steel and aluminium tariffs, and that AUKUS is in Washington’s best interests.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong spoke to her counterpart overnight, where she said she made Australia’s case to Marco Rubio.

“We talked about the Indo-Pacific and the importance of our partnership to stability, peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific,” Senator Wong said.

“I’ve outlined, as you would expect, the benefits to all countries, all three countries of the AUKUS agreement, an agreement that I think is so important for strategic balance in the region, that means protecting peace, preventing conflict, and assuring prosperity and security for all countries and AUKUS is a contribution to that.”

It’s that strategic imbalance in our own region she alludes to that should have pushed Mr Albanese onto the plane bound for The Hague.