Aamir Latif
24 September 2026•Update: 24 September 2026
Austrian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has warned the US and China that the Indo-Pacific is not a "chessboard" for global superpowers, declaring the post-1945 world order “is no longer fit for purpose.”
In a major foreign policy speech delivered in New York, Albanese identified the strategic competition between China and the US as the "most consequential" factor shaping the region, Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported on Thursday.
"How Washington and Beijing manage their relationship matters profoundly. But it cannot be the only lens through which we see the region," he added, referring to continued battle between Washington and Beijing to increase their footprint in the region.
The Indo-Pacific countries, Albanese said, are not "spectators," instead they are shaping the region's future and "writing their own script."
His remarks about the rules-based order echo similar warnings from like-minded leaders, including Canada's Mark Carney, who has said middle powers must unite because "if we're not at the table, we're on the menu."
The Australian leader further said that Canberra needs to help shape the new global order by building new relationships, standing up for the rules governing how countries interact with each other and rejecting the notion that might is right.
Albanese inked a decade-long security agreement during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday, and announced another $60 million in funding to help the country defend itself against Russia.
"I think Russia thought it could just steamroll through in a matter of weeks, and what we have found is the people of Ukraine were underestimated," Albanese said.
