Morrison powers up the Anglosphere to face China threat

“We see the world in similar ways. And that’s not surprising given our history. We see the challenges in similar ways. … [And what] we had the opportunity to do was to discuss the Indo-Pacific situation more broadly, … the situation only reinforces the need for us to have deeper cooperation.”

He described the meeting’s atmospherics as a “very easy understanding amongst the three of us”: “We’re very conscious of that of the environment we face. But whenever that environment is, we will always face it together.”

Their confab came ahead of a discussion late on Sunday (AEST) amongst the G7-Plus, where Mr Morrison has been asked to outline the geopolitical challenges facing open societies for his fellow leaders from the US, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Australia, Korea, India and South Africa.

Mr Morrison declined to comment on whether he, Mr Johnson and Mr Biden had talked specifically about the Chinese strategic threat, nor whether he had sought further reassurance from his allies over their backing in Australia’s wide-ranging tensions with China.

Mr Morrison’s only mention of China was to call for better relations.

“We have a comprehensive strategic partnership with China. And partnerships are about managing issues that occur within the relationship,” he said.

“We, of course, would like to see the dialogue that was occurring to continue again and start again. But that’s pretty much an issue for China.”

Mr Morrison may now need to wait until a planned potential visit to Washington in September to spend more time with Mr Biden.

But he will see plenty of Mr Johnson: in Cornwall, they met before the trilateral with Mr Biden to discuss the two countries’ free-trade agreement; they will dine together in London on Monday; and if the FTA talks come to fruition they could sign an in-principle agreement on Tuesday.

Trade Minister Dan Tehan and his British counterpart Liz Truss have been negotiating frantically in recent weeks, but Mr Morrison offered no guarantee that the two sides could bridge the remaining issues, on agriculture and labour mobility, in time.

“It’s important for both countries that we get the right deal. And so I’ll be patient for that. And if we’re able to achieve that in the next few days, great,” he said.

“I’m sure the Prime Minister Johnson would welcome that as well. But Australia is looking for the right deal. Not any deal.”