Albanese plays down Pacific 'hot mic' incident
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The news: Anthony Albanese has been recorded in a private conversation with a top US diplomat, who appeared to confirm the US pulled out of a Pacific security deal at the request of ambassador Kevin Rudd.
The context: Albanese made the comments to Deputy US Secretary of State Kurt Campbell on the sidelines of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) in Tonga overnight.
Campbell appeared to reveal that Washington had held off on its own policing initiative at the Rudd's request.
“I talked with Kevin about it. So you know we were going to do something. He asked us not to, so we did not. We’ve given you the lane. So take the lane,” Campbell said.
Albanese then quips that the US “can go halvies” on the cost, before Pacific Minister Pat Conroy appears to ask the journalist to stop filming.
The conversation was recorded and posted online by a journalist from New Zealand, whose ethics Albanese questioned as he played down the interaction.
While Albanese has dismissed the conversation as a “chat” with “a mate of mine”, there had been some unease over the plan among Pacific leaders, who were concerned it was being used as a counterweight to Beijing.
Albanese minister flatly denied Campbell had said the US pulled out of its own proposal, telling reporters to “chill out”.
The Australian-funded $400 million plan will see Pacific police officers trained at three training hubs in the region, and one in Brisbane. Pacific leaders endorsed the plan at PIF on Wednesday.
It comes with China also seeking to exert its influence in the region, signing a secretive security pact with Solomon Islands in 2022.
What they said: Responding after the video was published, Albanese said: “The video is what it is. It’s up to them whoever did that to think about their own ethics. When it comes to journalism, it was a private conversation, it was jovial conversation”.
The source: X account of Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific reporter
