Malcolm Turnbull lashes Donald Trump’s ‘might is right’ doctrine as he warns AUKUS threatens Australia
A former prime minister and fierce critic of Donald Trump is calling for an AUKUS rethink, warning that ‘sucking up’ to the US is undermining Australia.
Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull has lashed US President Donald Trump’s “might is right” doctrine while calling on Canberra to rethink AUKUS, warning that “sucking up” to Washington “has undermined” Australia’s sovereignty.
Mr Turnbull, a fierce critic of Mr Trump, has long held concerns about Australia’s $368bn plan to arm the navy with nuclear-powered submarines, saying it relies too heavily on the UK and the US to succeed.
Mr Turnbull said on Monday those concerns were only compounded by a “much less dependable” US and lacklustre political support for AUKUS in the UK.
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“Virtually everything we know about the progress of AUKUS we learn from submissions and testimony given to the US Congress,” Mr Turnbull said, adding that it was “kept very well informed, but they have their own interests to pursue and it’s not always the same as us”.
“The UK parliament has had a thorough inquiry and they’ve made very severe, serious criticisms and raised big issues about the risks to AUKUS.
“Our parliament has done nothing, absolutely nothing, and yet we do have the most at risk because whether we ever get any submarines depends entirely on decisions taken and industrial developments in the United States and the United States and the United Kingdom.”
That lack of visibility was “a massive sacrifice of Australian sovereignty” at “the worst possible time to be sacrificing sovereignty”, the former Liberal leader said.
He declared himself a supporter of the Australia-US alliance but cautioned that the Albanese government was dealing with “a United States administration that does not pretend to be engaged in global affairs to defend democracy”.
“It is an administration that makes it clear that it believes might is right – Donald Trump says that he’s proud of that, and that is precisely what all of the post-Second World War international architecture was set up to refute and to prevent,” Mr Turnbull said.
Mr Turnbull said Australia was “a better partner to the United States when we are self-reliant, when we can speak truth to power, when … we have genuine agency”.
“I have dealt with two American presidents as prime minister,” he said.
“I’ve had matters of agreement with them and matters of disagreement.
“And where I have won respect of those presidents is by standing my ground and standing up for Australia.”
He said failure to do so “only earns contempt”.
“People forget that in the imperial capital, whether it’s Washington or Beijing, they regard deference as their due, so the more sucking up you do … all they do is put up for a while and then call for the next sycophant to join the queue,” Mr Turnbull said.
Mr Turnbull gave his remarks to a public inquiry led by former officials calling for greater scrutiny of AUKUS, including ex-Labor minister Peter Garrett and retired Defence Force chief Chris Barrie.
More to come...
Originally published as Ex-PM warns against ‘sucking up’ to US in AUKUS plea
