CANBERRA, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- Former Australian Prime Minister (PM) Malcolm Turnbull has said that the country cannot assume it can rely on the United States under the administration of President Donald Trump.
Turnbull, who served as Australia's PM from 2015 to 2018, said on Thursday that the AUKUS security partnership is a "massive mistake."
"We have to recognize the world has changed, America has changed. And we cannot assume that we can rely on America in the way we have in the past," he told Australian Broadcasting Corporation television.
Turnbull's tenure as PM overlapped with the first 20 months of Trump's first term as president.
He said Trump has "sought to bully" Denmark, Canada and other countries since taking office for the second time.
In 2021, leaders of Australia, the United States and Britain formed the AUKUS pact, under which Australia will acquire nuclear-powered submarines.
Turnbull said that the pact has made Australia more reliant on the United States than ever before "at a time when America is less reliable than ever." ■
