U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Saturday that “significant progress” has been made toward Australia’s acquisition of a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines “at the earliest possible date” under the AUKUS security pact.
Austin met with Australian defense minister Richard Marles in Washington on Saturday to discuss the trilateral AUKUS (which includes the UK) partnership, their mutual security efforts within the Indo-Pacific region, and other issues.
Citing their previous meeting in December, Austin said both sides had agreed to deepen defense ties and strengthen coordination on regional priorities, according to a transcript issued by the U.S. Defense Department….