Via Peter Hartcher:
The Trump White House is now carrying out consultations in Washington to test reactions to the appointment of Admiral Harry Harris as ambassador to Australia, and the reactions so far are strongly positive.
This signals a rising likelihood that the four-star commander of America’s Pacific Command will be nominated to the post, a very deliberate message of commitment to the military alliance with Australia.
Who is the intended recipient of the message? The first is Canberra as the US seeks to reassure its anxious ally. The second is Beijing. The Trump administration wants to tell China that it cannot divide Australia from America.
“The last American four-star to take up residence in Australia was Douglas MacArthur”, the general who waged the allied Pacific war against Japan from his headquarters in Brisbane, a Washington observer put it. A four-star admiral is the highest military rank in the US navy in peacetime.
Former Asia policy chief in the George W. Bush White House, Mike Green, says: “Harry Harris would be the first national security professional assigned to Canberra in a long time. Given the complex strategic landscape in Asia right now, that makes sense.”
Harris and his wife, Bruni Bradley, are known to want the job. Donald Trump likes Harris and wants him to have it. He would be warmly received in Canberra. Harris is a China hawk and one of Beijing’s least favourite Americans. The Chinese regime would not like him to hold any official post anywhere. To the Trump administration, this is a plus.
It’s also a reminder to Canberra of who is its real boss lest our China dalliance turn strategic.
