In advance of tomorrow’s 34th Australia-U.S. Ministerial Consultations, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III met today at the Pentagon with Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles to discuss the historic military-to-military progress between the two nations.
Austin, fresh from his 11th trip to the Indo-Pacific as secretary, expressed pride in the achievements of the past three years. “We share with Australia a vision for a free, open and secure Indo-Pacific,” he said. “Together, our unbreakable alliance is helping to make that vision a reality. We’re delivering on major force posture initiatives, deepening our defense industrial cooperation, and expanding efforts with our regional allies and partners.”
A key aspect of these efforts is the AUKUS partnership between Australia, the U.K., and the U.S., which aims to provide Australia with conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarines and enhance joint capabilities and interoperability.
“Today and tomorrow, we’ll keep building on the historic results that we’ve achieved together,” Austin said, acknowledging Marles’ significant role in the partnership’s progress.
Marles noted the substantial growth in the U.S.-Australia partnership, highlighting the transformational impact of AUKUS and the increasing U.S. force posture in Australia. “The marine rotation in Darwin is growing across all domains. We’re now seeing more activities, which has been really fantastic,” he said. He also praised Austin’s leadership globally, pointing to the trilateral partnerships with Japan and South Korea and the quadrilateral partnership with Japan, Australia, and the Philippines.
“The world remains a challenging place, with a complex security environment,” Marles said. “Our relationship with the United States has always been important, but it’s never been more important than now.”
Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong will join the two defense leaders in Annapolis, Maryland, for the consultations.–News Desk