From the AFR:
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has called on Australians to ignore doomsayers who warn Australia has to make a strategic choice between the United States and China.
Speaking on a visit to the Adelaide-based Techport naval shipbuilding facility on Thursday, Mrs Clinton said Australia could have strong ties with both countries as the United States was determined to have strong ties with Australia and China.
“I know there are some who present a false choice … saying that Australia needs to choose between its longstanding ties with the United States and its emerging links with China,’’ Mrs Clinton said.
“That kind of zero-sum thinking only leads to negative-sum results.
“We support Australia having strong multi-faceted ties with every nation in the Asia Pacific, indeed in the world, including China, just as we seek the same.
“And I have said repeatedly that the Pacific is big enough for all of us.”
Hmmm, well, goodo. But let’s not forget that there is always a difference between a nation’s stated foreign policy stance and their actual one.
We can at least take this opportunity to put to bed the AFR’s preposterous recent campaign to get the nation to rent a fleet of nuclear submarines.
