Australia needs US for security - press

Australian PM John Howard gives Mr Bush a warm welcome

The visits by US President George W. Bush Chinese President Hu Jintao to Australia give newspapers there the opportunity to turn the spotlight on Canberra's ties with Washington and Beijing.

They agree that, despite anti-Bush protests, Australia is dependent on the US to help maintain security in the region, with some papers arguing that the relationship should therefore become less ambiguous.

Two papers highlight China's poor human rights record and ask why Mr Bush's visit has attracted more protests than Mr Hu's.

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The US remains the basis of Australian security and will for the foreseeable future. The US-Australian relationship is built on a common language, culture and values that go beyond economic consideration.

The Age - columnist Gregory Hywood, former editor-in-chief

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What ties Australians to America is a combination of self-interest and sentiment. As a small, isolated, wealthy and still primarily Anglo-European enclave at the perimeter of an unstable region of impoverished millions, Australians feel insecure and capable only of limited self-defence.

The US has been coveted for its protection. But Australians are also connected to Americans, as to the British, by common values: a love for democracy, liberty and the rule of law. We also share a common language. That is why, even leaving aside the crucial issue of the US's preponderant military power, engagement with Asia serves Australia's economic purposes but can never provide a popular, credible military alliance.

The Australian - columnist Stephen Morris

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[Australian Prime Minister John Howard's] message to Mr Hu and Mr Bush should be that Australia, while it will always do all in its power to help, looks to China and the US for the wise and steady leadership the region needs to maintain the peace and underpin the prosperity of all countries in it. That means closer consultation and deeper participation in the most important decisions affecting the future of the region.

Sydney Morning Herald - editorial

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George Bush - whose country best proves the benefits of freedom and capitalism, and which saved us in World War II - is attracting all the hatred... The US shares with us something even more precious than trade: the values most of us admire - above all, a love of freedom. Those values, that freedom, don't just define us. They make us strong... And because Americans share our values, it will be to them, not unstable China, that we'll look for help should ever our freedom as a country be in danger.

Herald Sun - columnist Andrew Bolt

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George Bush is the head of a thriving democracy with an infinitely better human rights record [than China]. So why have there been more protests about Bush than Hu?

The Age - columnist Brian Harradine

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