Richard Marles, Penny Wong in Washington DC amid Pentagon AUKUS review
Top Trump aides Marco Rubio and Pete Hegseth laud Australia as one of America’s best allies as they welcome Richard Marles and Penny Wong to Washington DC amid a review of the AUKUS pact.
The Pentagon’s secret AUKUS review found ways the submarine deal “could be done better” but Defence Minister Richard Marles has refused to detail how the defence pact could change as he prepares to hand over another $1.5 billion instalment check.
US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth vowed the months-long review finalised last week would help strengthen the defence pact for the US, Australia and the United Kingdom but also remained tight-lipped about the report’s recommendations to achieve that.
Mr Hegseth, speaking alongside Mr Marles, Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington DC ahead of AUSMIN meetings, insisted AUKUS was “full steam ahead” in line with Donald Trump’s earlier assurances.
In a tense press conference following the meeting, Mr Marles dodged questions from Australian reporters seeking details of the review’s outcome and what changes the US was proposing to the $360 billion AUKUS pact.
Mr Marles insisted the review had examined “ways in which AUKUS can be done better” but not would be drawn on the proposed changes, their timeline, cost, impact and whether Australia was agreeable.
Asked whether Australia’s defence spending had been raised as part of the review or in today’s meetings, Mr Marles would not say.
“We’ve been very clear about our position in relation to defense spending and where that has led, and that has led to the biggest increase in peacetime defence spending in Australia’s history, and that is acknowledged by the US,” he said.
“The review is essentially looking at ways in which AUKUS can be done better, and we continue to work with the United States and the United Kingdom about how we can do AUKUS better.”
Despite the uncertainty, Australia will forge ahead with its next $1.5 billion AUD instalment check to the US in the coming weeks as part of its AUKUS commitments.
Mr Marles said the investment would be used to bolster the US submarine industrial base.
There have been concerns the lagging build rates mean the US will not be in a position to begin handing over Virginia-class submarines to Australia starting from 2032 as planned.
“We applaud Australia’s upcoming delivery of an additional $1 billion to help expand US submarine production capacity,” Mr Hegseth said in prepared remarks.
“We’re strengthening AUKUS so that it works for America, for Australia and for the UK.”
Pressed on his reluctance to discuss the outcome of the review, Mr Marles said he wanted to respect his American counterparts and insisted there was already “an incredible amount of information and detail which is out there around the optimal pathway that all of us need to follow”.
The months-long Pentagon review has not been made public but US officials who have read it say it includes recommendations for change to the current deal.
In October, the US Chief of Navy said there were plans to clarify “ambiguity” in the terms and “make it better” for all three signatories.
A US State Department spokesman said the AUSMIN leaders had committed to deepen cooperation by “accelerating and expanding joint defence initiatives”.
“In line with President Trump and Prime Minister Albanese’s direction to move ‘full steam ahead’ on AUKUS, the principals recognised the work underway to deliver priority infrastructure works and a workforce uplift plan in support of an enhanced trilateral submarine industrial base,” the statement said
Mr Marles said infrastructure investments would be made at RAAF bases in the Northern Territory and Queensland to support increased US presence in the Indo Pacific.
“Coming out of today’s meeting, there will be further infrastructure investments at RAAF base, Darwin, RAAF base Tindal and RAAF base Amberley which will support increased rotations of American military aircraft, including fighter planes, bombers and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft, and that builds on the existing rotations which are happening right now,” Mr Marles said.
“It highlights the significance within the context of all of our force posture, of the force posture that is now underway in the air domain.”
Mr Hegseth, who has previously criticised Canberra’s low defence spending, also lauded Australia’s contributions to the defence alliance, referencing infrastructure upgrades in Queensland and Darwin for US bomber rotations and cooperation on missile and guided weapon production.
Speaking at the State Department on Monday local time, he said it was important both countries continued to work closely together “rowing in the same direction”.
“The stronger we are together, the more we can deter the kinds of conflicts neither of us want to see, and this is a deepening of that partnership,” he said.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the AUSMIN meeting would build on the momentum created by Donald Trump and Anthony Albanese’s White House discussions in October.
“We truly have no better friend,” Mr Rubio said.
The Trump administration’s top diplomat said the critical minerals deal signed between the leaders in October was crucial for defence and economic development.
“… we have to have supply chains that are reliable and that are diverse and not overly invested in one place where they can be used as leverage against us or our partners of the world,” he said.
“And so this is something that you’ll find the US and Australia work very closely on, and that’s at the cornerstone of everything we plan on doing in the months and years to come.”
Ms Wong welcomed the comments about the future of AUKUS and said the work both countries did together was critical for a peaceful and prosperous Indo Pacific region.
“Australia’s approach to the Alliance has always been to work to ensure it delivers concrete benefits for our security and prosperity, and for that for the United States,” she said.
“And AUKUS is central to that – it’s a win for Australia, a win for the US, and a win for the United Kingdom.”
Mr Marles said the United States was Australia’s most important relationship.
“And really, our alliance with the United States is really the cornerstone of Australian strategic and foreign policy, and today is an important moment to take that forward again over the next 12 months,” he said.
“We are living in a much more contested world where it really matters to be doubling down with friends and allies, and obviously, America is front and centre and foremost for Australia in that respect.”
AUSTRALIA TO DROP $1BN ON ‘GHOST BAT’
Australia’s first home-grown combat aircraft in over 50 years is set to move from prototype to production, with the federal government set to announce more than $1 billion in funding to boost collaborative air capabilities.
The announcement will include fresh contracts with Boeing Defence Australia to deliver an initial six operational Block 2 MQ-28A Ghost Bats - a major step in transforming the experimental program into a fully functioning war-fighting platform for the Australian Defence Force (ADF).
It is understood the government will outline how the new aircraft will form the backbone of a future operational air combat capability within the Royal Australian Air Force.The major investment is part of a broader $10 billion commitment to drones over the next decade, including at least $4.3 billion for uncrewed aerial systems.
— with Newswire
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Originally published as Richard Marles, Penny Wong in Washington DC amid Pentagon AUKUS review
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