Australia’s Morrison Warns Against ‘Binary Choices’ in Trade War
Australia’s Morrison Warns Against ‘Binary Choices’ in Trade War
(Bloomberg) -- Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison cautioned against forcing countries to make “binary choices,” becoming the region’s latest leader to air concerns about the growing tensions between the U.S. and China.
Morrison told a luncheon Friday during a visit to Singapore that the trade war “poses great risks to the global economy.” He also echoed calls by Asian leaders to strengthen multilateral institutions -- a move meant to alleviate smaller nations of undue pressure caused by the ensuing trade war.
“Trade conflict between the U.S. and China is testing the system as never before,” said Morrison, who was on his first overseas trip since winning last month’s election. “As independent sovereign nations in the Indo-Pacific, we don’t see our options as binary and nor do we wish them to become so.”
Australia, a close U.S. security partner that relies on China for almost 40% of its global trade, has long struggled to maintain a diplomatic balance between the two. Ties between Canberra and Beijing have been strained by a series of disagreements, including Australia’s decision to ban telecommunications giant Huawei Technologies Co. from 5G contracts -- a choice that the U.S. wants other allies to make.
While Morrison shied from directly calling on the U.S. to accept China’s rise, he emphasized the need for the region to broaden bilateral economic ties, while urging countries to respect their freedom to do so. “You can have inclusivity, and you can have trade and you can have investment, as Singapore and Australia know better than anyone else, and not give up your sovereignty or independence,” Morrison said.
The Australian leader’s remarks echoed the message his host, Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, delivered in a speech to a regional security summit last week. “Unfortunately, when the lines start to get drawn, everybody asks ‘Are you my friend or not my friend?’ And that makes it difficult for the small countries,” Lee said at the time.
Morrison’s trip was part of an annual visit to discuss bilateral cooperation with Lee. “We can only encourage them to work through these issues and reach a resolution,” Morrison said of the U.S. and China.
To contact the reporter on this story: Philip J. Heijmans in Singapore at pheijmans1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Ruth Pollard at rpollard2@bloomberg.net, Brendan Scott, Jon Herskovitz
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