Newscasts - Australia to 'support status quo' on Taiwan, amid US defense push

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13/07/2025 15:07

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Source: 'Reuters - General news videos'

Description: Australia will not commit troops in advance to any conflict, Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy said on Sunday (July 13), responding to a report that the Pentagon has pressed its ally to clarify what role it would play if the U.S. and China went to war over Taiwan. Diane To reports.

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Video Transcript:

Australia will not commit troops in advance to any conflict, the country's defense industry minister said on Sunday. Pat Conroy was responding to a Financial Times report that the United States has been pressing allies on what they would do if a conflict broke out over Taiwan.

One, we don't engage in hypotheticals. We don't discuss hypotheticals. But secondly, the decision to commit Australian troops to a conflict will be made by the government of the day, not in advance, but by the government of the day, and that's our position, and it's been long established.

China claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own and has not ruled out the use of force to bring the island under its control. Taiwan President Lai Ching-te rejects China's sovereignty claims, saying only Taiwan's people can decide their future. The US does not offer a blank check guarantee to defend Taiwan. But it has been pushing allies to step up defense spending, saying it's part of President Donald Trump's "America First" agenda of restoring deterrence. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stressed on Sunday that his country was "considerably increasing" defense spending. He told reporters that Australia "supports the status quo" on Taiwan, and is against any unilateral action there".

We want peace and security in our region. We don't want any change to the status quo. That's Australia's position today. That was Australia's position last week. That's been a bipartisan position for a long period of time.

Albanese was speaking in Shanghai, at the start of a six-day visit to China that is likely to focus on security and trade. He watched on as Tourism Australia and Trip.com Group signed a deal to promote Australia as a premier tourist destination for Chinese travelers.