Malcolm Turnbull assures Australia and US will ‘continue to serve shoulder to shoulder’

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull reaffirmed the alliance between Australia and United States during the 75th anniversary of the Darwin raids on Sunday. He assured that the two countries would continue to serve shoulder on shoulder.

The Australia leader has assured Australia and US alliance amid reports of his tough phone call with US President Donald Trump. He shared that the US president has actually committed a strong and continuous presence in the region. "Here in Darwin and around the world our two nations continue to serve shoulder to shoulder,” Turnbull said.

“We have a strong ally in Washington," the prime minister exclaimed. Turnbull has cited that the Australian and American soldiers have fought together in battle, such as the bombing of Darwin, as a foundation of the enduring bond between the Land Down Under and the United States. "

The prime minister said the two countries’ nearly 70-year alliance was founded by their combined sacrifice in conflicts like World War II. Turnbull has also recognised that the US had been a force for peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region.

Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove has backed up Turnbull’s claims, saying Australia supported the United States in all significant conflicts since World War I. He had also paid respect to the 88 sailors killed on the USS Peary in Darwin Harbour in 1942."Although overwhelmed by Japanese dive bombers, the Peary went down all guns blazing, her crew full of spirit and defiance, fighting and firing to the very end," Cosgrove said.

Australia and United States alliance seemed to have hit a low point earlier this month amid reports of a tough phone call between the leaders of the two countries. Trump has taken to Twitter to express his thoughts regarding the planned refugee swap, calling it a "dumb deal".

Afterwards, the president has taken to the platform to thank Turnbull for telling the truth about their civil conversation. Trump’s administration has agreed to honour the refugee-swap deal following the controversial phone call.

Cosgrove believes that the two countries' shared values, mutual respect and affinity would result to a lasting alliance. "Because when our nation, our sovereignty, was under direct attack, the men of the USS Peary, our allies, were by our side,” news.com.au has quoted him saying. Turnbull, Cosgrove and Opposition Leader Bill Shorten laid wreaths during ceremony alongside US Charge d'Affaires James Carouso, Japanese Ambassador Sumio Kusaka and Michael Gunner, the current Chief Minister of the Northern Territory.