Wong's trip to Washington may suggest that everything is business as usual. It isn't

The Age

4 days ago

In the highly stage-managed world of leaders' meetings, it's often difficult to discern anything meaningful. The politicians smile, shake hands, pose for the cameras and disappear behind closed doors, sometimes without uttering a single word to the journalists who have assembled there in the hope of crumbs.
Later, they may issue a statement or communique in lofty language that affirms a shared commitment to some mutually agreeable cause or promises a renewed focus on certain universal priorities.
The Quad foreign ministers' meeting on Tuesday, Washington time, followed this mould. There were occasional nods to the fact that other countries 'may do things differently at times', in Foreign Minister Penny Wong's words – but overall, you would think everything between these four nations was business-as-usual.
Except it isn't. Indeed, there are some pretty major problems.
Australia is sweating on Donald Trump's administration on a number of fronts, not least of all the AUKUS pact, which is currently under review to see if it puts 'America First'.
Tied up in that, the US wants Canberra to boost defence spending. (It has made the same demand of Tokyo, and The Financial Times reported that, in protest, Japan cancelled a defence meeting planned alongside the Quad.)
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And Australia has secured no 'deal' to reduce or eliminate Trump's tariffs, despite the Albanese government making the case that the US already enjoys a trade surplus and a free trade agreement with Australia.
If any commitments were given to Wong in Washington, she wasn't divulging them publicly. Indeed, while she said the importance of AUKUS was well understood, she gave no indication of confidence that it would survive the administration's reappraisal.