Envoys' job is to build ties, not destroy them

The Washington Post reported on Tuesday that Harry Harris, commander, United States Pacific Command, is likely to be the next US ambassador to Australia. The Post and several other media outlets, highlighting Harris' tough past rhetoric aimed at China in the maritime territorial disputes in the South China Sea, assume he will rally Australia to counter a rising China.

Even though Harris' record seems to justify the speculation, I believe it is an inaccurate job description for Harris, or anyone who takes up that post. His mission should be to improve US-Australia relations rather than drive a wedge between Australia and China, which have seen their relations grow by leaps and bounds over the past decades.

US-Australia relations took a hit in February after US President Donald Trump criticized Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on the phone over a refugee resettlement agreement former US president Barack Obama had made between the two countries. While the two leaders' meeting in New York in May seemed to have mended bilateral ties to a certain extent, leaked video showed Turnbull mocking Trump at the Australian parliament's annual midwinter ball in June.