(Today, the U.S. Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, will visit Alaska to meet with other nations that are part of the Arctic Council, which focusses on Arctic issues and aboriginal people like the Inuit. The nations' statements on climate change are expected to be a point of contention).
Last year, Australia refused to endorse an 80-nation statement on the humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons because it included a reference to a Red Cross resolution with which Australia disagrees – a decision criticised by both former prime minister Malcolm Fraser and former foreign minister Gareth Evans.
It was also during this conference where the "crypto nation" statement was officially announced.
This put the United States against all of Latin America, which issued a 23-nation statement two days later saying that Zelaya's restitution was an "indispensable prerequisite" for recognizing the elections.
"The illegal interception of communications data belonging to citizens, companies and members of the Brazilian government are a grave matter, an assault on national sovereignty and individual rights, and are incompatible with relations between friendly nations," the statement said.
"Some governments felt comfortable doing that and some did not," he said, insisting that it was clear to which nations his statement referred.
"The target was in France in particular because of its obvious role in the war on Islam and oppressed nations," the statement said.
"We are at the moment, besides our powerful presence inside the country, ready to establish a political office outside the country to come to an understanding with other nations," the statement said.
"We view as destructive attempts to politicise sporting events, which since ancient times have played a paramount role in improving understanding and agreement between nations," the statement said.
If the home nations' autumn statement lacked conviction for much of the past month, there were at least belated signs of deficit reduction against the southern hemisphere's finest.
