22 November 2024: The Week in Australian Foreign Affairs

This week in Australian foreign affairs: Albanese in Brazil the G20; Albanese attends Australia-China third bilateral summit; second Australia-India Annual Summit; Marles hosts Australia-US-Japan Trilateral Defence Ministers’ Meeting in Darwin, and more.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was in South America this week to attend on the G20 and APEC Leader’s Summit. According to a media release on 19 November, Albanese met leaders from the world’s major economies at the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Brazil where he spoke “about the need for concerted action to keep working through the worldwide inflation surge and its impact on people, and the anti-inflationary measures the Government has taken in Australia while also providing important cost of living relief.” During the summit, Albanese had the opportunity to meet with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Turkiye President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and China’s president, Xi Jinping. “As this year’s G20 Chair, Brazilian President Lula launched the Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty at the Summit which aims to galvanise global cooperation on food security.” Australia is a founding member of the Alliance and will work to share expertise as a major food producer and exporter in contributing to food security and poverty alleviation in our region.
On 18 November, Albanese met with Xi in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for a third bilateral summit, occurring on the 10th anniversary of the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two nations. Albanese expressed gratitude at the resumption of a range of dialogues, noting also that “the tempo of bilateral visits is increasing. Trade is flowing more freely to the benefit of both countries and to people and businesses on both sides. We continue to explore opportunities for practical co-operation in areas of shared interest, including on our energy transition and climate change.” Xi remarked that bilateral discussion had been “very productive over the past year and more. We have maintained close communications at all levels, actively promoting the implementations of our common understandings, and made positive progress.” He continued, “now, our relations have realised a turnaround and continues to grow, bringing tangible benefits to our two peoples. So, this is the result of our collective hard work in the same direction, and should be maintained with great care.” The two further discussed “progress on areas of cooperation, including climate change and energy transition, increased ministerial engagement, and economic and trade links.”
On 19 November, Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Anthony Albanese celebrated significant strides in the bilateral Comprehensive Strategic Partnership at the second Australia-India Annual Summit held during the G20 in Rio de Janeiro. Highlighting initiatives like the Australia-India Renewable Energy Partnership and the extension of the Australia-India Business Exchange program, the leaders emphasised mutual economic growth and climate action. They affirmed deeper defence collaboration, including a renewed Joint Declaration in 2025 and a maritime security roadmap, while also advancing people-to-people ties through new consulates and mobility programs like the “Working Holiday Maker” visa. Reiterating their shared commitment to a stable Indo-Pacific and enhanced regional cooperation, the leaders stressed the Quad’s role as a “force for global good” and pledged to bolster ties in preparation for the fifth anniversary of their strategic partnership in 2025.
Albanese joined leaders from across the region in Lima, Per,u for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders’ Meeting on 17 November. During the meeting, Albanese called for further regional economic cooperation and progress towards digital trade, making it faster, easier and cheaper for businesses and consumers. The leaders discussed the transition to net zero, with “Albanese sharing Australia’s ambition to become a renewable energy superpower and highlighting the economic and job opportunities this will present.” At the Summit, Australia endorsed the 2024 APEC Leaders’ Declaration, advancing inclusive and interconnected trade initiatives. “The declaration sets out APEC’s work in trade facilitation, services trade, digital trade, agricultural sustainability, and gender equality and inclusion.” On the sidelines of the Summit, Albanese met with “Peruvian President Boluarte, Indonesian President Prabowo, and Singaporean Prime Minister Wong.”
On 17 November, Minister for Defence and Acting Prime Minister Richard Marles hosted Japanese Minister of Defense, Nakatani Gen, and United States Secretary of Defense, Lloyd J. Austin III, for the 14th Trilateral Defence Ministers’ Meeting in Darwin, Northern Territory. The trilateral marks the second meeting this year, and the first to be held in Australia. The ministers and secretary discussed shared ambitions to advance the trilateral program of cooperation, “including through exercises and operations, shared strategic capabilities, science and technology and defence industry cooperation.” The heads of defence reaffirmed their commitment to regional stability through enhanced cooperation across four key pillars. Notable new initiatives include the establishment of “Trilateral Defence Consultations” for policy alignment, expanded trilateral training such as annual amphibious exercises starting with TALISMAN SABRE 2025, and inaugural participation in exercises like ORIENT SHIELD. The partners announced plans for advanced collaboration on air and missile defence, autonomy, and defence industrial resilience under frameworks like AUKUS and the Partnership for Indo-Pacific Industrial Resilience (PIPIR). Other highlights include strengthening maritime security in the South China Sea and deeper engagement with Pacific Island nations through activities such as Exercise PUK PUK and Operation RENDER SAFE. They emphasized collective deterrence and coordination in response to challenges posed by the PRC, North Korea, and regional instability.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong joined Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Chris Bowen, Minister for International Development and the Pacific, Pat Conroy, and Assistant Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Josh Wilson, on 19 November to announce Australia’s contribution of $50 million to the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage, to assist countries impacted by the climate crisis. “The Fund will assist developing countries respond to extreme weather and slow onset climate events, addressing the economic and non-economic impacts of climate change.” Australia joins Canada, Germany, the UAE, the US and the UK, among others, who are also contributors to the Fund. “This contribution complements our foundational $100 million commitment to the Pacific Resilience Facility, our $50 million contribution to the Green Climate Fund and the incorporation of climate change action as a central pillar of Australia’s international development program.”
Also on 19, Wong released a statement on the sentencing of Australian citizen Mr Gordon Ng and other members of the NSL47 in Hong Kong “for organising and participating in an election primary. Mr Ng was convicted under the National Security Law on 30 May 2024.” The Australian Government has expressed “strong objections to the Chinese and Hong Kong authorities on the continuing broad application of national security legislation, including in application to Australian citizens.” The statement calls “for China to cease suppression of freedoms of expression, assembly, media and civil society, consistent with the Human Rights Committee and Special Procedure recommendations, including the repeal of the National Security Law in Hong Kong.”
Conroy announced a partnership on 19 November with Cricket Australia to support high-performance cricket across the Pacific and strengthen connections with the region. “Delivered through the Australian Government’s PacificAus Sports program, the renewed three-year, $1.55 million partnership will identify and develop talented players from the Pacific region. The partnership will also create opportunities for Pacific teams to access high-level competitions, both in-country and in Australia.” The partnerships will also include “the establishment of a Cricket Invitational—an annual tournament that will see Pacific teams competing against Australia’s women’s and men’s First Nations teams. The first tournament is scheduled to be held in Papua New Guinea in June 2025 and will form part of the country’s 50 years of independence celebrations.”
On 20 November, Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs Tim Watts released the Consular State of Play Data 2023-24. The data “shows the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) provided consular assistance and crisis support to more than 15,000 cases over 12 months, including more than 6,000 Australians and their family members impacted by conflict in the Middle East, Ukraine, Sudan as well as civil unrest in New Caledonia.” As overseas travel by Australians surged in 2023-24, the Australian Government saw a corresponding 7 percent increase in non-crisis consular cases compared to 2022-23. Key areas of growth included a 31 percent rise in lost passports (2,678 cases), a 23 percent increase in stolen passports (1,945 cases), and a 21percent increase in illness and hospitalisation cases (1,356 cases). Drug-related arrests grew by 23 percent (117 cases), whereabouts inquiries by 24percent (328 cases), and theft reports by 26percent (198 cases). Death cases saw a modest 3 percent rise (1,919 cases), while welfare and other serious matters notably declined by 10 percent, totalling 2,840 cases. These trends highlight the expanding scope of consular assistance as Australians resume extensive international travel.
Dr Adam Bartley is the managing editor for AIIA’s Australian Outlook and weekly columnist for The Week in Australian Foreign Affairs. He is a former Fulbright Scholar and non-resident fellow at the Elliot School for International Affairs, the George Washington University. Adam also has positions as post-doctoral fellow at the Centre for Cyber Security Research and Innovation RMIT University and as program manager of the AI Trilateral Experts Group. He can be found on Twitter here.
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