Prime Minister, Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama said the US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton should not depend on the Australian government to assist Fiji to return to democracy and re-engage in constructive dialogue.
Commodore Bainimarama said the Australian government ministers or officials have not made any effort to speak to him, and it is pointless for Australia to say that they will try to assist Fiji.
He hopes Clinton realizes that Australia's policies against Fiji goes totally against the Fiji government's Roadmap to Democracy.
Meanwhile Hillary Clinton has told the Sydney Morning Herald that while Australia and the US share core values, China is not yet a responsible power and faces an unstable future.
Clinton said China has a long way to go to show it could be a "responsible stakeholder" in the region.
Commodore Bainimarama has only said today that China has been in the region for quite some time and they just did not come into the picture a few years ago.
It has also been confirmed that the US and Australia have agreed yesterday to work together to increase American military presence in Australia and in the Asia Pacific region, as part of the annual AUSMIN ministerial talks.
Clinton said that in recent years the US knows there was a feeling in the region that the US was abdicating its presence and leadership.
She said the US is now strengthening its existing alliances and creating better relations with countries like Indonesia and Vietnam.
The US Defence Secretary, Robert Gates, said America had "no interest in new bases in the region" but was and I quote "looking to better use what we have" end quote.
Clinton squarely confronted the question of whether Australia should reassess its American alliance to give greater weight to a fast rising China.
Clinton said AI think that the core values of the Australian people, the quality of life, the standard of living, the aspirations that Australians feel are very much in line with the way Americans think and act."
Story by: Vijay Narayan
US should not rely on Aust to re-engage with Fiji
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