U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III hosted Australia’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Richard Marles on August 6 in Annapolis, Maryland, to strengthen further the U.S.-Australia Alliance and the two countries’ cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region and globally.
The principals reaffirmed that the U.S.-Australia Alliance as essential to promoting a prosperous and peaceful region, and welcomed actions by both governments that build upon the commitments made during the visit of Prime Minister Albanese to the United States and his meeting with President Biden in October 2023.
These actions include:
- Australia’s endorsement of the United States’ Framework to Counter Foreign State Information Manipulation through a bilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
- Australia’s continued progression in joining the U.S. Global Entry Program, streamlining entry to the United States and strengthening our robust people-to-people links.
- Signing of a MoU by representatives of the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and U.S. Department of State (State) Diplomatic Security to establish exchanges in the areas of technical security, cyber security, and threat analysis.
- A new four-year phase of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) – Australia Mekong Safeguards Program to support strengthened environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards for infrastructure development in the Mekong subregion.
- Commitment to conclude a space framework agreement to facilitate cooperation on civil space activities, including further cooperation on the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Artemis program.
Promoting Security and Stability with Regional Partnerships
The principals acknowledged the importance of regional partnerships in promoting stability and security in the Indo-Pacific. The United States and Australia reaffirmed our shared ambition to increase maritime domain awareness collaboration with regional partners, including Japan, India, and the Philippines. The United States and Australia are working with Japan to expand and enhance its participation in force posture cooperation exercises, including with the Marine Rotational Force-Darwin. The United States, Australia, and Japan are expanding intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance cooperation by fostering greater trilateral activities in the Indo-Pacific. Building on the commitments of the May 2 Ministerial meeting in Honolulu with Japan and the Philippines, the principals reaffirmed their commitment to work with the Philippines to advance defense cooperation, including through regular Maritime Cooperative Activities in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone and strengthening capacity building.
The principals committed to enhance interoperability with the militaries of Pacific countries, including through Exercises CORAL WARRIOR and CARTWHEEL in Fiji, Exercise PUKPUK in Papua New Guinea (PNG), and as demonstrated through His Majesty’s Armed Forces of Tonga’s participation in the 2024 iteration of the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise series. Following the signing of the U.S.-PNG Defense Cooperation Agreement, Marine Rotational Force-Darwin has conducted a successful deployment to PNG.
Scientific, Technological, and Industrial Collaboration
The principals also welcomed progress on aligning export controls to drive deeper defense trade. Following Australia’s July 18 proclamation to enact its landmark Defence Trade Controls Amendment Act commencing September 1, and the conclusion of technical dialogues and an exchange of diplomatic notes, the United States informed Australia of its intent to imminently proceed with the requisite steps for submission of a determination to the United States Congress by August 17. Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States have each created new mechanisms that, once finalized, will facilitate billions of dollars in secure license-free defense trade between and among the partner countries without needing further authorization. AUKUS partners are poised to take advantage of unparalleled levels of defense cooperation and the continued integration of their defense industrial bases to accelerate a technological advantage.
The United States and Australia committed to streamline cooperation on missile and uncrewed aerial vehicle technologies, particularly for Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance (GWEO) Enterprise and AUKUS Pillar 2 Advanced Capabilities, and reiterated their respective commitments to upholding the standards of multilateral nonproliferation regimes.
The principals also welcomed the work towards forming the Partnership for Indo-Pacific Industrial Resilience (PIPIR) and reaffirmed the importance of supply chain resilience to strengthening the region’s defense industrial bases and, thereby, contributing to a stable Indo-Pacific.
The principals acknowledged Australia’s GWEO Enterprise provides a pathway for the co-development, co-production, and co-sustainment of critical long-range fires and their component supply chains for both nations. Australia’s GWEO Enterprise is strategically important to both nations and principals affirmed our mutual interest in identifying Australian insertion points into the United States’ guided weapons and explosive ordnance production plans.
The principals welcomed progress towards our 2023 commitment to collaborate on a flexible guided weapons production capability in Australia, with an initial focus on the co-production of Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (GMLRS) by 2025. They acknowledged Australia’s intent to produce viable volumes of GMLRS for global consumption and welcomed efforts to finalize, by December 2024, the MOU to enable the co-assembly of GMLRS, with follow on mechanisms for co-production in the future. The principals supported the establishment of a sovereign Australian solid rocket motor capability and manufacture of tactical training rounds.
The principals acknowledged the supply chain complementarities between GMLRS and the Precision Strike Missile (PrSM). They committed to finalizing a PrSM MOU on cooperative Production, Sustainment, and Follow-on Development (PSFD) by December 2024 and announced the establishment of a Joint Program Office to advance cooperative activities on this critical munition in 2025.
The principals welcomed the signing in July 2024 of the Statement of Intent on Integrated Air and Missile Defense between the Australian Department of Defence and U.S. Department of Defense, and committed to deliver a strategic roadmap that will identify strategic joint priorities and lines of effort to pursue near-, mid-, and long-term opportunities for co-development, co-production, and co-sustainment of Integrated Air and Missile Defense (IAMD) capabilities. They welcomed the success of the U.S. Command Control Battle Management Communications (C2BMC) demonstration in Australia and continual work toward a networked regional IAMD architecture alignment.
The principals welcomed continuing collaborative efforts to develop and demonstrate an air-launched hypersonic weapon under the Southern Cross Integrated Flight Research Experiment (SCIFiRE). Australia and the United States continue to make significant progress in design and ground testing, supporting the bilateral flight test program of Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile (HACM). Looking forward, the United States and Australia are working towards expanding this deep collaboration and transitioning the partnership on SCIFiRE and HACM to a fielded combat capability. Australia will consider HACM as a potential pathway to field its first air-launched hypersonic weapon.
The principals recognized the strong progress made in implementing the AUKUS Optimal Pathway since its announcement last year to maintain stability and security in the Indo-Pacific. The principals reaffirmed their commitment to Australia’s acquisition of conventionally armed nuclear-powered submarines setting the highest non-proliferation standard for a non-nuclear-weapon State, and to ensuring Australia’s negotiation of an Article 14 arrangement maintains International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) oversight of nuclear material. They underscored that upholding the IAEA’s independence and technical credibility is vital to maintaining the integrity of the global nuclear non-proliferation regime.
Supporting Global Security
The principals denounced Iran’s destabilizing behavior, including its support for armed proxies and militant partners, threats to shipping and freedom of navigation in the Persian Gulf, Red Sea, and Gulf of Aden, its arbitrary and unjust detention of foreign and dual nationals, and targeting, intimidation, and harassment of dissidents overseas. They further condemned Iran’s nuclear-related expansions, proliferation of ballistic missiles, and provision of drones to Russia for use in its war against Ukraine.
The principals strongly condemned the growing partnership between the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and Russia, including continued arms transfers from the DPRK to Russia that prolong the suffering of the Ukrainian people, violate multiple UNSCRs, undermine the global nonproliferation regime, and threaten stability in both Northeast Asia and Europe. The principals noted with concern the possibility for the DPRK to obtain or expand political, economic, technological, or military support from Russia that emboldens the DPRK’s reckless and destabilizing behavior. Both sides called for the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and urged the DPRK to engage in diplomacy as the only path to enduring peace. They noted with grave concern continuing reports of human rights violations and abuses in the DPRK.
The principals committed to enhance cooperation to prevent the proliferation of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems, and to strengthen the global multilateral non-proliferation architecture. This includes the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) as the cornerstone of the global non-proliferation and disarmament regime and the foundation for peaceful nuclear cooperation. The principals discussed how enhanced transparency could strengthen the implementation of the NPT. In this regard, Australia welcomed the United States’ commitment to responsible transparency as a nuclear weapon state and its leadership on related practical measures, and highlighted the need for Russia and China to engage meaningfully in similar efforts.
The principals committed to further strengthen cooperation across the space domain, noting the centrality of outer space to global prosperity, security, and connectivity. They underscored their ambition to develop and promote norms of responsible behavior to reduce space threats. They opposed any deployment of nuclear weapons in space in violation of Article IV of the Outer Space Treaty.
Read the full statement: Joint Statement on Australia-U.S. Ministerial Consultations (AUSMIN) 2024
Read also: 2024 Australia-U.S. Ministerial Consultations Press Conference