Exchange between Julia Gillard and Doug Mitchell

Hi, I'm Doug Mitchell. I represent the Citizens Electoral Council. Prime Minister, why are we escalating militarily with the US in a way that is alarming our biggest trading partner, China —which if they weren't buying our resources, our economy would be the worst in the world—why are you pushing Australia to war with China; if you say you're not [pushing war], why on earth are you doing this (militarily with the US)?

Gillard: Well… Ah, thankyou for your question. I'm very confident that as the future of this century unfolds Australia can find itself with a strong ally in the United States, but also with a friend in China, a friend in Beijing, and a strong trading partner. I don't think it's an either/or choice. Ah, we are certainly engaged with China in every way, at every level, and the nature of our economic partnership has just grown and grown. We continue to have a wonderful relationship with the United States including our very long-standing defense relationship. As the most recent move forward in that defense relationship we are welcoming marines for rotational deployment and training into the Northern Territory. Ah, that is a significant thing, but it shouldn't be over-interpreted, or over-analysed, ah, we’re talking about when it's in full operation, 2,500 marines coming to Australia for part of the year for training. So, I don't think people need to worry about how that’s going to be interpreted in our region. So, we can get on doing both, and we are.