“I think it’s very important that our friends here understand our concerns about this matter.”
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Blinken,who met Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Friday,continued:“What our Department of Justice has already said repeatedly,publicly,is this:Mr Assange was charged with very serious criminal conduct in the United States in connection with his alleged role in one of the largest compromises of classified information in the history of our country.
“The actions that he is alleged to have committed risked very serious harm to our national security,to the benefit of our adversaries,and put named human sources at grave risk of physical harm,grave risk of detention.
“So I say that only because just as we understand sensitivities here,it’s important that our friends understand sensitivities in the United States.”
Wong said that “we have made clear our view that Mr Assange’s case has dragged on for too long and our desire that it be brought to a conclusion,and we’ve said that publicly,and you would anticipate that that reflects also the position we articulate in private”.
She added there were limits to what could be achieved until Assange’s legal processes had concluded. Manning’s case had reached a “different point in terms of legal proceedings” than that of Assange when Barack Obama commuted her sentence to a seven-year jail term.
This masthead revealed earlier this year that US law-enforcement authorities wereseeking to gather new evidence about Assange by attempting to interview his former ghostwriter,acclaimed British writer Andrew O’Hagan.
Assange’s supporters reacted angrily to Blinken’s comments. Greg Barns,a legal adviser to the Australian Assange campaign,said:“Australia is the US’s closest ally. Mr Blinken needs to understand the overwhelming view of Australians which is that enough is enough.
“Julian must be released immediately and be able to rejoin his family.”
US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said the AUSMIN talks had resulted in an “exceptional set of achievements”,including a US commitment to help Australia produce guided multiple-launch rocket systems,known as GMBRLS,by 2025.
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“And we’re racing to accelerate Australia’s access to priority munitions through a streamlined acquisition process,” Austin said.
“We’re also thrilled to announce that we’re taking steps to enable Australia to maintain,repair and overhaul critical US and US-source munitions.”
Defence Minister Richard Marles saidthe joint plan to begin manufacturing missiles in Australia within two years,revealed on Friday,represented a “very significant step forward in our relationship”.
Marles said he had been “absolutely assured” by both Austin and Blinken that plans were on track for the US to supply Australia with at least three Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarines,despite 23 Senate Republicans saying they opposed the transfer without a massive increase in America’s production capacity.
“We are completely sanguine about what we are seeing in America and understand that that is just part of the process,” he said.
Blinken said there continued to be “robust bipartisan support” for the AUKUS pact in the US Congress.
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