Department of Defense Spokesperson Lt. Col. Martin Meiners provided the following readout:
Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs, Dr. Ely Ratner, co-chaired the U.S. - Australia Defense Policy & Strategy Talks (DPST) August 10, in a virtual meeting with his Australian counterparts: First Assistant Secretary of Defence for International Policy, Hugh Jeffrey, and Acting First Assistant Secretary of Defence for Strategic Policy, Zoe Cameron.
The DPST is the premier defense policy dialogue for the U.S.-Australia Alliance to ensure close coordination and address current and future strategic challenges facing the Indo-Pacific region.
ASD Ratner was joined by Dr. Siddharth Mohandas, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for East Asia; Eric Ridge, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy and Force Development; Samuel Brannen, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Plans and Posture; and Jesse Salazar, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Policy.
The defense leaders held robust discussions on the regional security environment, force posture, multilateral approaches to security challenges, and strategic capability co-development.
ASD Ratner looks forward to continuing this robust discussion during the upcoming Australia-U.S. Ministerial (AUSMIN) Meeting, hosted by Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin III and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, September 2021 in Washington, D.C.