Washington | The Trump administration's top diplomatic and military chiefs are heading to Australia for alliance talks just as Washington's efforts to build a maritime security initiative for ships passing through the Persian Gulf show signs of trouble.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and newly sworn-in Secretary of Defence Mark Esper will arrive in Australia early next month for this year's Australia-US ministerial talks, mere weeks after Beijing singled out military ties with the US for worsening "uncertainties" in the Asia-Pacific.