Admiral to take up role as US envoy in S. Korea instead of Australia
SYDNEY: Veteran Asia hand Admiral Harry Harris is to be the new US ambassador to South Korea, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has confirmed, filling a post that has been vacant for 15 months.
Adm Harris, commander of the US Pacific Command, who is known for his hawkish positions on China, had been due to become Washington's man in Canberra, until a late switch.
The move comes with the Korean peninsula in diplomatic focus, with the leaders of the North and the South due to hold a summit today, and US President Donald Trump expected to meet the North's leader Kim Jong Un in the next few months.
Mr Turnbull said he had been informed of the change in plans early this week, just as Adm Harris was set to begin confirmation hearings in Washington.
"I am disappointed Harry's not coming because he is a really good friend, and I think Harry will be disappointed that he is not coming to Canberra too because he loves Australia," Mr Turnbull said late on Wednesday during a visit to France.
But Adm Harris "is a guy of enormous experience and ability, and given the situation on the Korean peninsula, given the tensions there, I can well understand why the President has decided that the admiral's expertise and experience is going to be put to better use in Korea than in Australia".
The ambassador's job in Canberra has been vacant for nearly 11/2 years, but Mr Turnbull was quick to play down any notion that the last-minute switch represented a snub to one of Washington's closest allies.
"You know the relationship between Australia and the US... is so deep, it is so intense it operates at so many levels," he said.
The US charge d'affaires James Carouso said he shared Mr Turnbull's disappointment but acknowledged Adm Harris' skills were needed in Seoul.
"I would have been honoured to work with him," Mr Carouso said of Adm Harris on Sky News yesterday.
"We need our best person immediately available to go (to South Korea) and handle what is going to be a difficult negotiation." - AFP
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