Ms Truss said closer defence,technology and economic links with Australia would help Britain fight “malign activity” from Russia and China.
“Threats to freedom,democracy and the rule of law aren’t just regional – they’re global. And that’s why we have to respond together,” she said in a speech to the Lowy Institute think tank in Sydney.
“Russia and China are working together more and more as they strive to set the standards in technologies like artificial intelligence to assert their dominance over the West and Pacific through joint military exercises and in space.”
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Ms Truss is visiting Australia with British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace for discussions with Australian counterparts Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne and Defence Minister Peter Dutton. Touted as a leading contender to replace Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson if he is forced out after an angry backlash over claims parties were held at his residence during coronavirus lockdowns,Ms Truss said Mr Johnson was doing an “excellent job” and had her “100 per cent support”.
Ms Truss urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to “desist and step back from Ukraine before he makes a massive strategic mistake”.
She said the Kremlin had failed to learn the lessons of history and that an invasion of Ukraine would only lead to a quagmire and loss of life,as it did in the Soviet-Afghan war or the conflict in Chechnya.