Secretary Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III, Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defense Richard Marles, and Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong at a Joint Press Availability Remarks August 6, 2024

 

Secretary Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III, Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defense Richard Marles, and Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong at a Joint Press Availability

Remarks

August 6, 2024

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Well, good afternoon, everyone.  In March, the USS Annapolis submarine visited Australia.  Today, we’re very pleased to welcome our Aussie friends to Annapolis. 

To our colleagues, to our partners, to our friends – Foreign Minister Wong, Deputy Prime Minister Marles – Penny, Richard – thank you for an incredibly productive day.  We’re so grateful not only to have you here, but to have had a really terrific session – the 34th AUSMIN that’s been held between our countries. 

And of course, I’m particularly grateful to my friend and partner Secretary Austin, also to our hosts here, including Vice Admiral Davids and the Naval Academy for the incredible hospitality today. 

If you’ll forgive me, before getting into what we discussed in AUSMIN, I do want to say a few words about the Middle East.  We continue to work intensely to de-escalate tensions in the Middle East and to prevent the spread of conflict.  Over the past few days, we’ve been in constant contact with partners in the region and well beyond.  In those conversations, we’ve heard a clear consensus: no one should escalate this conflict.

We’ve been engaged in intense diplomacy with allies and partners, communicating that message directly to Iran.  We communicated that message directly to Israel.  Our commitment to Israel’s security is ironclad.  We will continue to defend Israel against attacks from terrorist groups or their sponsors, just as we’ll continue to defend our troops.  But everyone in the region should understand that further attacks only perpetuate conflict, instability, insecurity for everyone.  And further attacks only raise the risk of dangerous outcomes that no one can predict and no one can fully control.  It’s urgent that everyone in the region take stock of the situation, understand the risk of miscalculation, and make decisions that will calm tensions, not exacerbate them. 

That’s particularly true given the decisive moment that we’re at in the ceasefire negotiations in Gaza.  President Biden spoke today to President El-Sisi of Egypt and to Amir Tamim of Qatar.  These are the two countries that along with the United States are mediating negotiations to reach a ceasefire, to get the release of hostages.  As the leaders discussed, the negotiations have now reached a final stage, and they agreed on the urgency of bringing this process to closure.  Concluding that agreement and avoiding any action that could somehow disrupt it is the only path to ending the conflict in Gaza and bringing calm to the region.  It’s critical that all parties work to finalize an agreement as soon as possible. 

Now, from day one of this administration, we have been laser-focused on realizing a shared vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific.  I just got back from my 18th trip to the region in this job, and a big part of that trip was with Secretary Austin.  We did 2+2s with the Philippines and with Japan.  I was at ASEAN with Foreign Minister Wong.  We were together also for the Quad meetings in Japan. 

At the heart of our work in the Indo-Pacific is our alliance with Australia.  Today, yet another step forward in deepening, strengthening that alliance.  President Biden has called it “an anchor for peace and prosperity” in the Indo-Pacific and around the world.  It’s enduring – more than 70 years.  And our countries working together have made our people a little bit more free, more secure, more prosperous. 

But just over the past three and a half years, I believe we’ve made the relationship stronger than it’s ever been.  We’ve enhanced our defense cooperation, including expanded Marine rotations through Darwin.  We created AUKUS with the UK to bolster regional and global security, to turbocharge our defense industrial bases.  We had the first cohort of Australian workers who just arrived in Pearl Harbor for training and maintenance on nuclear-powered submarines.  And we continue to broaden the scope of our partnership, from collaboration on advanced AI and quantum to combatting disinformation. 

When Prime Minister Albanese and President Biden were last together, they talked about and agreed on plans to really advance what we call an “Innovation Alliance.”  They inaugurated this during the state visit in October, and they continue and we continue to elevate science, technology, and clean energy collaboration as a fundamental part of the work that we’re doing together. 

Through our Critical Minerals Task Force, we’re strengthening supply chains for components that are essential to electrical vehicles, to batteries, to solar panels – many of the things that will be at the heart of the 21st century economy and that are also critical to combatting climate change.  Over the past just two and a half years, the U.S. has invested more than $5 billion in Australia for critical minerals.  Yesterday, we also announced a partnership using satellite imagery to better manage natural resources and to help us tackle climate change. 

Throughout AUSMIN, we also discussed threats to our shared vision of a free and open Indo‑Pacific, a region that’s stable, that’s peaceful, that’s prosperous, where sovereignty and international law are respected, where human rights are promoted and protected.  We agreed on the importance of maintaining peace and stability in the South China Seas, the East China Seas, and countering any attempts at coercion.  We’re united on the need to maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and to resist any actions that escalate tensions or undermine the status quo. 

We’re also committed to deepening, strengthening the architecture that upholds the shared vision for the region, and working more and more with other allies, with other partners, to advance the shared vision that we have.  We’ve been enhancing our cooperation with Pacific Island countries.  We’re taking, of course, the next steps on AUKUS.  We’re advancing an affirmative agenda for the Quad, where Penny and I were just engaged a few days ago. 

We reaffirmed the importance, also, of bridging the Indo-Pacific and the transatlantic theaters.  We’re very grateful that Australia is the largest non-NATO military contributor to Ukraine, providing air-defense capabilities, to helping train Ukrainian personnel in the United Kingdom. 

Fundamentally, we agree with Prime Minister Albanese that, as he put it, “ours is an alliance with a bright future, because it’s an alliance for a better future.”  Lloyd and I are both incredibly grateful to Penny and Richard for their partnership and for their friendship.

Penny.

FOREIGN MINISTER WONG:  Thank you very much.  Can I first thank Secretary Blinken, Tony, and Secretary Austin, Lloyd, for hosting Richard and I at this remarkable facility on these beautiful grounds?  And we really appreciate the opportunity to be here. 

If I may first start with a – just a – to reiterate and articulate our sterling support for what Secretary Blinken just said in relation to the Middle East.  We again endorse what he has said, urging all to de-escalate.  And like him, Australia also underlines the risks to all in the region of escalation and of miscalculation.  Secretary Blinken said this is a decisive moment in terms of ceasefire, and we continue to add our voice to the support for the ceasefire outlined by President Biden and endorsed by the Security Council.

This is our third AUSMIN together, and they have all been really warm, open, trusting engagements, and this one particularly so.  It’s been an opportunity in this meeting to continue strengthening our alliance, deepening our alliance, because what we want is an alliance that is always fit for the strategic circumstances that we face, which, as you all know, are increasingly complex and increasingly challenging. 

So I thank all of my colleagues for the transparent, constructive discussion we have had on so many substantial issues and the quality of that discussion.  As Secretary Blinken’s comments demonstrate and as the joint statement makes clear, we have covered a lot of ground.  Foremost in our discussion is how we work together to assure the character of the Indo-Pacific, an Indo-Pacific that is peaceful, open, and prosperous; and working together on what that requires from all of us – to step up our delivery in the region, to step up our collaboration with others in the region; to work across shared priorities, as we have been over these last years on everything from infrastructure to sustainable development to cyber space and connectivity to health, and of course on security and conflict prevention.

Each of us is combining all our elements of national power towards maintaining peace and deterring conflict, and together we work to ensure that no state ever concludes that the benefits of conflict in our region outweighs the costs. 

You would also have seen, as Secretary Blinken has said, we have made a range of other announcements which demonstrate the continuing broadening of our partnership.  Yesterday he and I endorsed the U.S. Framework to Counter Foreign State Information Manipulation.  This is about an investment in the protection of democracy, one of the many things we share, and of course, the establishment of the Australia-U.S. Landsat Next Partnership, which enhances cooperation on satellite imaging data connection, and of course, our entry into the Global – U.S. Global Entry Program from next year.

Really the primary point I wanted to emphasize in this conference was this:  American leadership matters.  American leadership has always mattered.  And it remains vital today.  It’s vital for peace, for prosperity, in a free and open world.  So we acknowledge and thank the United States of America for that leadership.  We acknowledge and thank the U.S. for the priority you place on allies and partners.  Together we can do more, so much more, in the world. 

And in today’s discussions we have seen what we share.  We have seen the depth of our alignment.  We have seen the depth of our strategic trust.  And we have also seen the sincerity of our friendship, and I thank you for that.  So thank you, Tony, and thank you, Lloyd.  It’s a privilege to work with you. 

SECRETARY AUSTIN:  Deputy Prime Minister Marles, Foreign Minster Wong, it’s great to have you here with us in Annapolis.  But before I talk about our progress today, I wanted to say just a few words about the tensions in the Middle East.  The Department of Defense continues to take steps to lower temperatures in the region and to ward off regional escalation by Iran and its partners and proxies. 

Several U.S. service members were wounded yesterday in a rocket attack on Al-Asad Airbase in western Iraq.  So make no mistake:  The United States will not tolerate attacks on our personnel in the region.  We’ve adjusted our military posture to strengthen our force protection and to reinforce our ironclad commitment to the defense of Israel and to remain prepared to respond to any contingency. 

To maintain our carrier strike group presence in the Middle East, I have ordered the USS Abraham Lincoln to replace the USS Theodore Roosevelt later this month.  I’ve also ordered more cruisers and destroyers capable of ballistic missile defense to the region, and I’ve ordered the deployment of another fighter squadron to the Middle East to reinforce our defensive air support capabilities there.

These posture adjustments add to our already broad range of capabilities in the region, and we remain ready to deploy on short notice to meet evolving threats to our security, our partners, or our interests. 

The United States remains intensely focused on de-escalating tensions in the region, and we’re also focused on securing a ceasefire as a part of a hostage deal to bring all of the hostages home and to end the war in Gaza. 

Now, let me turn to our 2+2.  Today’s meetings have once again demonstrated the extraordinary strength of our unbreakable alliance with Australia.  The United States and Australia share a common vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific, and that guided today’s discussions. 

Let me mention three key items. 

First, we agreed to continue deepening our force posture cooperation.  Our countries are upgrading critical air bases in Western Australia and the Northern Territory.  We’re operating from new locations such as RAAF Learmonth and we’re establishing an enduring logistics location at Bandiana.  We’re also increasing the presence of rotational U.S. forces in Australia, and all this will mean more maritime patrol aircraft and reconnaissance aircraft operating from bases across northern Australia.  It will also mean more frequent rotational bomber deployments. 

Second, we’re doubling down on our defense industrial base cooperation, and this includes supporting Australia’s guided weapons and explosive ordnance enterprise.  By the end of the year, we’re aiming to sign two memorandums of understanding on critical munitions.  The first supports manufacturing Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems, or GMLRS, in Australia by 2025.  The second advances the co-production, co-sustainment, and co-development of a Precision Strike Missile, or PrSM.  And as we accelerate our work together on PrSM, we agreed to stand up a joint program office in early 2025.  Together, these efforts will help ensure that we have the capability and the capacity that we’ll need for decades to come.

And finally, we’ll continue to advance our defense ties with regional allies and partners, especially India, Japan, and the Philippines.  And along with our UK allies, we continue to make outstanding progress through the AUKUS partnership.  The United States is pursuing different initiatives with each of our allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific.  And all of that work – all of that vital work builds greater peace, stability, and deterrence across the region.

Secretary Blinken and I returned from the Indo-Pacific just last week.  We participated in 2+2 meetings with our counterparts in Japan and the Philippines, in both Tokyo and Manila.  We spoke at length about Australia’s vital role in our network of alliances.  And the United States, Australia, and our other friends in the region are operating together more closely and more capably than ever before.

So, Richard and Penny, thanks for your leadership and for your commitment to our alliance and to the security in the region.  So we got a lot done today; we’ll keep building on our joint achievements over the past three and a half years, and we’ll keep charting an ambitious course forward.  Thanks again, and now, Richard, over to you.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER MARLES:  Well, can I thank Secretary Blinken and Secretary Austin for hosting Penny and I at this year’s AUSMIN?  I know that it’s been a real treat to be able to conduct AUSMIN this year at the U.S. Naval Academy here at Annapolis. 

This is the 34th AUSMIN, and it’s the third that we’ve undertaken as a group of four.  And when we reflect over the last two years, there have been huge achievements across three AUSMINs in advancing our alliance.  We have seen today groundbreaking discussions in respect of a much greater collaboration between our defense industry bases, particularly in respect of the manufacture of guided weapons in Australia.  As Lloyd said, we have committed to having an MOU by the end of this year for the co-assembly of GMLRS, guided land-based rockets, in Australia, with the intent of the beginnings of that manufacturing occurring next year.  We’ve also agreed to pursue a memorandum of understanding in relation to the co-production of the Precision Strike Missile in Australia, with the standing up of a joint program office next year. 

Now, what this has seen is a much closer working of our defense industry bases, and the legislation that was passed through the Congress last year, with the complementary legislation that was passed through the Australian parliament in March of this year, has given rise to a generational dream in establishing a seamless defense industrial base between Australia and America.  And we continued in our discussions today to develop this.  This is going to give enormous opportunities for Australian companies to participate and contribute to the supply chain here in the United States.  And as part of this, we’re seeing a much greater cooperation between our two defense innovation systems, and again, we have undertaken to establish an MOU of cooperation between the Defense Innovation Unit here in the United States and the Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator in Australia. 

In relation to force posture, this year’s AUSMIN has built on the last two in seeing a deepening of American force posture in Australia.  Now, the heart of that is the Marine rotation in Darwin, which is occurring as we speak.  And in the next couple of years, we look forward to the establishment of the Submarine Rotational Force – West in Perth. 

But American force posture now in Australia involves every domain: land, sea, air, cyber, and space.  And so we are seeing U.S. Army watercraft, for example, engaging in Australia.  And as Lloyd said, we’ve now seen a logistics base be established by the United States at Bandiana near Albury, and this is greatly going to enhance the United States ability to operate in Australia. 

The presence of American force posture in our nation provides an enormous opportunity to work with our neighbors in the region, and as Penny and I move throughout the region and speak to our neighbors, there is genuine appreciation for the contribution that America is making to the stability and the peace of the Indo-Pacific region by its presence in Australia.  But what this is doing is allowing us to do a much greater range of activities and operations and exercises with our partners, and we spoke about that today – with Japan, for example, where we’ve committed to doing a much greater amount of trilateral exercises between our three countries, but also doing more maritime domain awareness work, not only with Japan but with the Philippines and with India.

Finally, can I just add my thanks to Lloyd and Tony for their cooperation with Penny and I in advancing our alliance?  We deeply appreciate it.  We deeply appreciate the personal role that Lloyd and Tony have played in giving expression to American leadership in the world, which, as Penny said, deeply matters – deeply matters in terms of promoting democratic values and human rights throughout the world; deeply matters in terms of maintaining a global rules-based order, which is so important for Australia, which engages Australia’s national interest deeply.  And so I really want to say thank you for the partnership that we have been able to express on behalf of our nations, but at a personal level, I really want to say on behalf of Penny and I thank you for the deep friendship that we have now built across this stage.  Thank you.

MODERATOR:  Thank you all.  Our first question will go to Shaun Tendon, Agence France-Presse.

QUESTION:  Thank you.  Good evening.  Mr. Secretary, Secretary Blinken, if I could start to follow up on some of your comments on the Middle East.  You mentioned it’s a decisive moment right now for the ceasefire talks.  Today Hamas has appointed Sinwar as their new political head, somebody who masterminded the October 7th attacks, somebody who by most accounts is hiding in tunnels.  How does this bode for ceasefire talks?

You also mentioned the consensus about how Iran should or should not respond.  You spoke with the Jordanian foreign minister today.  Do you think Jordan and other countries in the region are on board in potentially repelling or striking down any Iranian projectiles that may come?

And if I could ask all of – all of you, including our Australian – the Australian ministers, in the Indo-Pacific, a very different appointment today: Muhammad Yunus in Bangladesh.  I just wanted to see if you had any thoughts about where Bangladesh is going, stability, whether – how you see that.

And just very briefly, Secretary Austin, if I could ask in particular on – but an important topic, a domestic one, but the 9/11 trial, the plea agreement which you have canceled.  Wanted to see if you could explain that a bit to us.  There of course – of course been concerns about the plea agreement voiced by some of the families, but also there’ve been longstanding concerns about a trial, not only because of the death penalty but because of the use of waterboarding, of torture in the evidence.  Do you believe a trial can go forward?  Thanks very much.

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Thank you, Shaun, and I know your colleagues appreciate you asking their questions for them as well.  (Laughter.)  So on the questions addressed to me first, with regard to Mr. Sinwar, he has been and remains the primary decider when it comes to concluding a ceasefire.  And so I think this only underscores the fact that it is really on him to decide whether to move forward with a ceasefire that manifestly will help so many Palestinians in desperate need – women, children, men who are caught in a crossfire of Hamas’s making in Gaza – whether we can put Gaza and the region more broadly onto a more peaceful and secure path.  So it only emphasizes the fact that, as has been the case for some time, it really is on him. 

And as the President said today following his conversations with President El-Sisi and with Emir Tamim, this is the moment.  This is the decisive moment.  The negotiations have reached their final stage, and we believe strongly that they should come across the finish line very, very soon.  And that, besides changing everything for people in Gaza, bringing the hostages home, giving us an opportunity to build a more enduring peace for Gaza, also opens up other possibilities, other prospects more broadly in terms of de-escalating tensions and bringing real security and stability.  That’s what we’re focused on.

And so when it comes to defending Israel, we are resolute.  We’ll remain resolute in making sure that we do everything possible to defend it against any attacks.  I’m not going to speculate on how that might go forward.  I can tell you that the intense focus that we have and that all our partners in the region have, including our Jordanian partners, with whom I spoke today – that focus is on de-escalation, is on making sure that no one takes any steps that could actually add fuel to the fire and broaden the conflict.  And they’re also intensely focused on getting the ceasefire over the finish line.

With regard to Bangladesh, we’re monitoring the situation very closely.  I would just say that any decisions that the interim government makes need to respect democratic principles, need to uphold the rule of law, need to reflect the will of the people.  We for our part take very seriously the safety and security and well-being of American citizens, of our personnel.  We went, as I think you know, to ordered departure of our non-essential personnel, and of course we’ll be watching this day in, day out.

FOREIGN MINISTER WONG:  You asked me a question on Bangladesh, and I think the Secretary’s outlined really a similar position to the one I would have articulated.  I was in Bangladesh not long ago, so obviously have watched with particular personal concern as well as our nation’s concern about the violence and tragic loss of life in Bangladesh, and I want to offer our deepest condolences to families and friends of all those who have died.

In relation to the interim government, what we will do – say is we call on all parties to cease violence, we call on all parties to de-escalate and respect universal rights, and we urge a full and independent and impartial investigation into the events of recent weeks.  We continue to support the calls from the people of Bangladesh for an orderly and peaceful return to a democratic and inclusive government.

QUESTION:  The 9/11 —

SECRETARY AUSTIN:  Yeah.  Okay, I thought Richard was going to —

FOREIGN MINISTER WONG:  He thinks he probably heard you (inaudible).

SECRETARY AUSTIN:  Well, thanks for the question.  I would just say that there’s not a day that goes by when I don’t think of 9/11 and the Americans that were murdered that day; also those who died trying to save lives and the troops and their families who gave so much for this country in the years following that.  I’m deeply mindful of my duty to all those whose lives were lost or changed forever on 9/11, and I fully understand that no measure of justice can ever make up for their loss.  So this wasn’t a decision that I took lightly, but I have long believed that the families of the victims, our servicemembers, and the American public deserve the opportunity to see military commissions – commission trials carried out in this case, and I’ll leave it at that.

MODERATOR:  Okay.  Our next question will go to Jade Macmillan, Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

QUESTION:  Thank you very much.  Secretary Blinken, Julian Assange’s lawyers say that they’ll be seeking a pardon for his criminal conviction in the U.S.  Would you consider that to be appropriate?

And secondly, were there any concerns raised on the U.S. side about how the Australian Government responded to his release?  There was some criticism domestically, for example, that the welcome he received risked damaging the relationship between Australia and the U.S.

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Thank you.  Look, we’ve had a legal process go forward and conclude.  We didn’t talk about this at all today; it didn’t come up in our conversations.  And in terms of what follows, I would refer you to our own Department of Justice, but as far as I’m concerned, there’s a legal process.  It’s been concluded, and I’ll leave it at that.

MODERATOR:  Okay, our next question will go to Reuters, Idrees.

QUESTION:  I’ve got a few questions as well, so strap in.

Could I just ask Minister Wong and Deputy Prime Minister Marles:  What role would Australia play in a Taiwan contingency beyond basing support?  Would you commit troops to helping defend Taiwan?

For Secretary Austin, who was behind the attack at Al Asad yesterday, and do you believe an Iranian or Hizballah attack against Israel is imminent?

Secretary Blinken, why do you believe Prime Minister Netanyahu will heed your calls to de-escalate given that for the past nine months or so he’s either ignored or gone directly against your requests, whether it’s on civilian casualties or negotiations on the ceasefire?  And more broadly, you mentioned the ceasefire talks are in their final stages.  We’ve heard similar optimism before.  Why – or do you believe that Israel has set back that effort given that they allegedly killed the leader of the group that they are supposed to be negotiating with?

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER MARLES:  Do you want to – we’ll let – perhaps if I start, and I’ll hand over to Penny.  I mean, the first point to make in respect of your first question is obviously we’re not going to speculate about hypotheticals in the future.  Our alliance is one where we are working closely together with the United States to deter conflict in the future, and that is where our focus and energy is at.  And in that respect, our position remains one of supporting the status quo across the Taiwan Straits and not wanting to see any unilateral change to that status quo.

SECRETARY AUSTIN:  Thanks, Idrees.  In terms of who was behind the attack on Al Asad, we’re sure that it was an Iranian-backed Shia militia group.  Specifically which group, we’re still investigating to determine that. 

In terms of whether or not or when Iran would choose to attack Israel, I’m not going to speculate on any Iranian actions going forward.  Idrees, as you know, what I’ve been focused on is making sure that we’re doing everything we can to put measures in place to protect our troops and also make sure that we’re in a good position to aid in the defense of Israel if called upon to do that.  So you’ve seen us do a number of things to strengthen our force posture, and again, I’m in constant communications with my commanders in the region and also with our allies as well.  So we’ll see how this evolves, but I won’t speculate on any specific action by Iran or any other Iranian-backed group going forward.

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  And Idrees, with regard to the Middle East, it is manifestly in the interests of everyone involved to avoid escalation, to avoid the conflict spreading, and I believe that actually no one wants escalation, no one wants to see the conflict spread.  But it’s very important that no one take steps that could lead to that even if it’s unintended.  And that’s why we’ve been engaged in this intense effort across the region and beyond to press everyone involved, including Israel, to avoid anything that could actually escalate the conflict.  And again, it comes down to the fact that people – that’s not where people want to go.  We want to make sure to the best of our ability that they don’t go there even inadvertently.

When it comes to the ceasefire, let’s understand where we are, how we got there, and why we believe this is something that should close and should close very soon.  Some weeks ago now, President Biden put before the world a proposal for the ceasefire, the release of hostages, a pathway to an enduring peace in Gaza.  And the entire world rallied behind it.  Country after country stood up in support of the proposal, culminated in a vote at the United Nations Security Council 14 to nothing endorsing the proposal, indeed incorporating it into a resolution.  We don’t see the Security Council agreeing on much these days, but I think that reflects the fact that quite literally the entire world came out in support of it.  And then it took some time, but Hamas after a couple of weeks agreed to support the proposal.  So there’s agreement on the framework. 

What we’ve been working on for the last few weeks are important details of how that is actually implemented, and there were some things that had to be negotiated in that process.  That work has continued even with the recent events in the region.  And we believe based on the work that’s been done, based on the very practical issues that are at stake, that there is no reason that this should not be concluded and concluded quickly.  So this is really a time for all of the parties involved to close this out – no delays, no excuses, no reasons why we can’t do something; focus on getting to yes. 

The reason among other things that we very much want to avoid any escalation is because, yes, that has the potential to disrupt concluding the ceasefire agreement.  So in and of itself, escalation would be a bad thing, but it also has the potential to upend bringing the ceasefire over the line and bringing it to conclusion. 

Again, this ceasefire is profoundly in the interests of everyone.  It’s in the interest of Israelis.  It’s in the interest, of course, of the hostages, their families around the world, including in the United States.  It’s manifestly in the interest of the Palestinian children, women, and men who are suffering every day.  It’s in the interest of virtually every country in the region.  Because not only is what’s happening in Gaza at stake, but many of these other points of conflict will also be profoundly affected by getting a ceasefire.  It opens up the prospect of calming things down everywhere in the region. 

So that’s our focus.  We’re doing everything we can both to avoid the escalation, bring the ceasefire agreement to conclusion, and we won’t stop until we get there. 

MODERATOR:  Our final question will go to Adam Creighton, The Australian. 

QUESTION:  Thank you very much for taking our questions.  This one is for Secretary Austin.  So recently, the influential media magnet Rupert Murdoch said that, in his view, he did not think the U.S. would come to the aid of Taiwan if China tried to encroach on the island.  So what do you make of that sort of assessment?  And if Mr. Murdoch was wrong, is it the expectation of the U.S. that Australia would come to the assistance of the U.S. militarily in any such confrontation? 

SECRETARY AUSTIN:  Well, I certainly won’t comment on Mr. Murdoch’s analysis or his statement, and I won’t speculate on whether or not there will be a conflict.  As I’ve said a number of times, I don’t think conflict with China is either imminent or inevitable.  We continue to work with likeminded partners in the region to ensure that we’re doing things to promote a free and open Indo-Pacific.  And so the things that – the types of things that you’ve seen us do over the last three and a half years I think have been quite remarkable.  Above and beyond the things that we discussed today in this 2+2 which – I mean, that – there are substantial accomplishments our two countries have accomplished together. 

But if you look at the things that we’ve done in terms of strengthening our relationship with India, developing – helping the Philippines to modernize their military, bringing Japan and the ROK closer together, and you’ve seen us do a recent ministerial in Japan with the Japanese minister of defense and the minister of defense from ROK.  That’s the first time that that’s ever happened. 

And so there’s just so many things like that that we have done in the region to work with others, to ensure that we do in fact move things towards greater stability and security, and promote that vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific.  So again, I won’t speculate on anyone’s comments or whether or not there will be a conflict.  I will just tell you that we’ll continue to do what – to work with our allies and partners to make sure that we’re moving things in the right direction, and that direction is towards greater stability and security. 

MODERATOR:  Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes our press briefing.  Thank you very much for joining us today.