President Donald Trump announced Friday his intent to nominate Adm. Harry Harris, head of U.S. Pacific Command at Camp H.M. Smith, to be the next ambassador to Australia.
The White House announcement said Harris is a “highly decorated, combat-proven Naval officer with extensive knowledge, leadership and geo-political expertise in the Indo-Pacific region.”
Harris is a hard-liner against Chinese expansionism in the South China Sea and frequently has faced the wrath of Beijing over his criticism of the rising Asian nation’s territorial claims and island-building in the disputed region.
Over $3 trillion in trade passes through the South China Sea annually, and the United States is concerned about China’s attempts to control ship and air passage through the area.
Known for a colorful turn of phrase, Harris said in 2015 in Australia that China was “creating a great wall of sand” and taking provocative actions toward smaller claimant states in the South China Sea.
On a trip to Australia in June, Harris said China was using its military and economic power to erode the rules-based international order. That order was established by the United States in the Pacific after World War II.
China was building up combat power by militarizing man-made bases. “Fake islands,” Harris said, “should not be believed by real people.”
The Japan Times reported in May that China urged the United States to fire Harris in exchange for pressure on North Korea, a claim that China Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang called “fake news and not worth refuting.”
Australia, meanwhile, has been frustrated that the United States has not had an ambassador to that country since September 2016.
Ralph Cossa, president of think tank Pacific Forum in Honolulu, previously said Harris would be welcomed Down Under.
“I can tell you that all the folks in Australia that I deal with, primarily the security community, are delighted with the prospect of Adm. Harris going there,” Cossa said. “While some have been grumbling about not having a U.S. ambassador yet, they all believe Harry would be well worth waiting for.”
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull tweeted Friday that it was “great” to see Harris’ nomination. “Look forward to seeing you in Canberra, Harry!” Turnbull wrote.
Harris, whose mother was Japanese and father a U.S. Navy chief, graduated in 1978 from the U.S. Naval Academy. He became head of Pacific Command, which covers half the globe and includes seven of the world’s 10 largest armies, on May 27, 2015.
