ANZUS will survive Trump: PM

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull insists the Australia-US alliance will survive US President Donald Trump's stint in the White House.

Australia's Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has played down fears Donald Trump could trash the ANZUS alliance. (AAP)

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has played down fears Donald Trump could trash the US-Australia defence alliance.

The pair discussed bilateral relations during a 15-minute telephone conversation on Thursday.

The prime minister said the ANZUS treaty was a fundamental foundation of Australia's security.

"That alliance will be there long after Mr Trump is no longer president, and long after I am no longer prime minister," he told reporters in Canberra.

"I have... absolutely no doubt the commitment of the United States to the alliance, the presence in the region, its commitment to its allies and our neighbours will continue."

Mr Trump has flagged a shake-up in foreign policy and the US may back track on the Obama administration's pivot to Asia.

Mr Turnbull noted the US has had a strong presence in the Asia-Pacific for decades and it was manifestly in America's national interest that this continue.

The US would also continue to be the foundation for peace and stability in the region, he said.

"It has been that Pax Americana for the last 40 years that has underpinned the extraordinary growth in prosperity, the raising of billions out of poverty," he said.

Former US ambassador Kim Beazley has warned of mayhem if Mr Trump trashes trade and alliance relationships in the region.

The Australia Defence Association said Mr Trump had been getting stuck into the Europeans and to some extent the Japanese and Koreans for not pulling their weight in security alliances with the US .

"We are not strategic bludgers and as long as we make sure we are not strategic bludgers, we are not going to have a problem," executive director Neil James told AAP.

Mr James said Australia's alliance with the US was as much in their interest as in our's.

"As long as we keep spending over two per cent of GDP (on defence), he is not going to think we are bludging. So the two per cent is going to be a floor, not a ceiling," he said.


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Source: AAP



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