Secretary of States James A. Baker III, Defense Secretary Dick Cheney and other administration officials arrived Thursday as part of the most senior U.S. delegation to visit Australia in more than 20 years.
The officials arrived for annual talks and for a 12-nation conference that could put the Asia-Pacific region on a new economic footing.Other members of the U.S. group included Commerce Secretary Robert A. Mosbacher and trade representative Carla Hills.
"It's the greatest conglomeration of U.S. Cabinet ministers ever (here)," said an Australian official.
U.S. officials said it was the highest-ranking delegation since President Lyndon B. Johnson visited in 1967 for the funeral of Prime Minister Harold Holt.
This year's talks replace the annual ANZUS treaty consultations, which included New Zealand until that country adopted an anti-nuclear policy in 1984 that caused a major rift in its relations with the United States.
ANZUS takes its name from treaty partners Australia, New Zealand and the United States. New Zealand, while still a member, no longer operates as a functioning partner.
Australian officials said the bilateral talks likely would be overshadowed by the Nov. 5-7 Asia Pacific Economic Conference but welcomed the opportunity to discuss world affairs with members of the Bush administration. They said the talks were a chance for Australia to learn firsthand the U.S. view of developments in the East bloc, in China and in disarmament.
Cheney was visiting for the bilateral meeting alone, while Mosbacher and Hills were heading straight to Canberra, the federal capital, for the economic conference, which includes representatives from the six ASEAN nations and Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Japan and South Korea.