Donald Trump ‘tantrums’ spark security fears in Australia

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Donald Trump ‘tantrums’ spark security fears in Australia

If Donald Trump continues his “tantrums”, Australia may need to “rethink our reliance on the US” and find other options to address security challenges, senators have said.

The US President’s broadcast clash with Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky over the weekend triggered alarm bells in Western capitals and jubilance in Moscow.

In Canberra, it sparked fresh concerns over Washington’s reliability as an ally, as Australia faces an increasingly hostile Indo-Pacific.

Remarking on Mr Trump’s exchange with Mr Zelenskyy, Jacqui Lambie said on Monday it was clear the Ukrainian leader “has the backing of the Western world”.

Camera IconSenator Jacqui Lambie says US President Donald Trump is ‘extremely unstable’. NewsWire / Martin Ollman Credit: News Corp Australia

“There’s no doubt about that,” she told Nine’s Today, appearing opposite Coalition senator Dave Sharma.

“If Trump wants to continue with his tantrums and change his mind every hour, then you have to leave him out of the equation because he’s extremely unstable and that is not good for world order.”

The veteran went on say “we need to back Zelensky”.

“If we let Russia take over … Ukraine, where’s it going next? Outside of Europe, inside of Europe, you know, what’s the next country?

“That’s why they’re all. They’re all now spending more money on their defence.”

Meanwhile, Senator Sharma said Australia may need to rethink its reliance on the US to guarantee its security.

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He said Mr Trump had “been quite clear that it is now a different foreign policy”.

“America first, if you want to call it that,” he said.

“It leaves us in a position where we need to do a lot more to look after our own defence and security needs.

“I mean, in the Asia Pacific, the US has a strong network of alliances, including with Australia, but also with Japan, Korea, the Philippines, Thailand that underpins stability in that region.

“And if the US can’t be relied upon to always uphold those alliance relationships unless it sees it in its own interests, then we will need to do more.”

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