U.S. seeks Australian commitment to defense ties

By Kristin Roberts

SOMEWHERE OVER THE PACIFIC (Reuters) - The United States expects continuity from Australia's new government and a renewed commitment to their security alliance despite Canberra's plans for a partial withdrawal from Iraq, U.S. officials said.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates was on Friday headed for Australia where he will be the highest ranking Bush administration official to visit since Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's centre-left Labor Party won power in November.

Rudd's victory ended almost 12 years of conservative rule by John Howard, a close ally of U.S. President George W. Bush.

"We anticipate there will be a great deal of continuity," Gates told reporters en route to Canberra for the annual Australia-U.S. ministerial consultations known as AUSMIN.

"Continuity doesn't mean that there might not be changes in tactic or changes in approach to certain problems," the Pentagon chief said.

Both Gates and the U.S. State Department's representative on the trip, Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte, praised Australia as a steadfast ally and partner in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere.

But other senior U.S. officials traveling to Canberra said the Rudd government needed to reaffirm its commitment to the security and defense relationship with Washington at the meetings on Saturday.

"The Rudd government is finding its feet," said one defense official. "There are a lot of things we need to hear from them about."