Authored by Monica O'Shea via The Epoch Times,
Australian leaders have pledged to speed up defence cooperation during high level talks.
Australia's Defence Minister Richard Marles met U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth at the Pentagon and Vice President JD Vance on Sept. 2.
A Pentagon readout of the Hegseth meeting said "both leaders agreed to accelerate force posture initiatives at Australian bases, bolster cooperation in combined logistics, and build greater interoperability through joint exercises. "They also discussed progress on defense industrial cooperation to enable shared capacity for guided weapons and next-generation capabilities."
Hegseth and Marles also discussed strengthening deterrence in the Pacific and progress on AUKUS.
"The Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister also spotlighted advancements in the AUKUS partnership and welcomed the recent arrival of U.S. Navy sailors in Western Australia to support the commencement of Submarine Rotational Force3West activities in 2027," the Pentagon readout said.
AUKUS is a trilateral security pact signed by Australia, the United States, and UK in 2021. Pillar One of the deal aims to arm Australia with nuclear-powered submarines, at a total cost of up to A$368 billion.
Meanwhile, Hegseth stressed the need for allies to pull their own weight on defence, while also commemorating the 75th anniversary of the ANZUS Treaty.
Marles described the conversations as
