Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder provided the following readout:
Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III met with his Australian counterpart, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Richard Marles, at the Pentagon today to discuss the United States – Australia alliance.
Against the backdrop of a momentous year for the “Unbreakable Alliance,” the two leaders affirmed their commitment to further deepen defense cooperation, including through defense technology collaboration, force posture initiatives, and the trilateral AUKUS partnership with the United Kingdom.
They also applauded recent announcements on historic cooperation between Australia and Japan, exchanged views on shared security challenges, and discussed further Alliance initiatives to support a free and open Indo-Pacific. The two leaders also surveyed the global security environment, sharing perspectives on the situations in Ukraine and the Middle East.