The United States and Australia have committed to significantly increasing defence cooperation to plug Australia’s capability gap and counter the growing threat of Beijing in the Indo-Pacific region.
Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles and Foreign Minister Penny Wong met with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in Washington D.C. for the annual Australia-U.S. Ministerial (AUSMIN) meeting.
Following the talks, Austin declared that the United States “will not allow Australia to have a capability gap going forward.”
“Our goal is to design the optimal pathway for Australia to get a nuclear-powered conventionally armed submarines as quickly as possible,” he told reporters, referring to the Australia’s acquisition of nuclear submarines under the AUKUS alliance….