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Australia said on Monday that the idea of hosting US missiles on its soil was no longer on the agenda after talks with US foreign and defense officials.
" This was not asked of us, was not considered, was not proposed to us, " assured Prime Minister Scott Morrison, a few hours after the departure of Sydney's new Pentagon leader, Mark Esper, and head of the American diplomacy Mike Pompeo.
End of the INF for the United States
Mr. Esper warned of entry, before arriving Saturday in Sydney for a week-long tour of the region, that Washington wanted to quickly deploy in Asia new medium-range conventional weapons, now that it is no longer bound by the INF Treaty from which he withdrew on Friday 2 August.
Washington is now free to compete with China , whose arsenal is largely made up of weapons of the type prohibited by the INF Treaty and which Beijing has never been a signatory.
►Also read: United States steps out of INF disarmament treaty with Russia
Mark Esper and Mike Pompeo participated Sunday in a meeting with their Australian counterparts. Australian Defense Minister Linda Reynolds told ABC on public television that the issue had been raised during her meeting with Esper. " I asked him directly the question, " should we expect a request " and he told me " no ". "
Any formal request would place Australia, both longtime ally of the United States and China's major trading partner, in an uncomfortable position.
Missiles may be in Guam
The policy towards Beijing becomes a subject of increasing friction between Washington and Canberra, a signatory of a defense treaty with the United States, but whose economy depends on Chinese purchases of its coal and iron ore.
Most experts agree that the missiles could be deployed at US military installations on the island of Guam in the Pacific.
(with AFP)