Visiting PM to address leaders after blistering speech
Canada’s prime minister has warned that the global rules-based order is experiencing a “rupture” in a closely watched speech to the Australian parliament.
Mark Carney is expected to discuss trade, investment and security issues in talks with his counterpart Anthony Albanese in Canberra on Thursday; The war in the Middle East is expected to dominate the talks.
In a speech at the Lowy Institute in Sydney on Wednesday evening, Canada’s prime minister said the old norms that formed the basis of the post-war international system had been “erased” and replaced by a new order.
He argued that middle powers, including Australia, Europe, Japan and Canada, collectively wield enormous economic and cultural influence.
If coordinated effectively, they could shape new institutions and trade agreements to replace those lost, Mr. Carney said.
“Recently, major powers have begun to use economic integration as weapons: tariffs as leverage, financial infrastructure as pressure, and supply chains as vulnerabilities to exploit.” he said.
“We can build something better, more prosperous, more just than what came before.”
Mr. Carney captured global attention with a striking speech on similar themes at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January.
In a speech at the Lowy Institute on Wednesday, he called for a “rapid de-escalation of tensions” in the Middle East after US and Israeli attacks on Iran were met with retaliatory strikes.
He said nations must respect the rules of engagement, abandoning their initial determined support for America and Israel’s actions to kill Ayatollah Ali Khameneini.
“We take this position with some regret because the current conflict is another example of the failure of the international order,” he said.
Australian National University international relations professor Wesley Widmaier said the conflict was a vexing issue for both Mr Carney and Mr Albanese.
“On the one hand, the US has arguably violated the sovereignty of a nation state, outside of international law,” Professor Widmaier told AAP.
“On the other hand, (the US and Israel) overthrew a regime that was oppressing its own people and may have killed as many as 30,000 people last month.
“So how do you reconcile them? Freedom and equality sometimes conflict.”
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