Marles, Wong to visit US after Trump’s defence spending call

Anthony Albanese’s most senior ministers are heading to the US for annual talks with their counterparts just days after the Trump administration vowed to continue pushing Australia to lift defence spending. Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles and Foreign Minister Penny Wong will fly to Washington on Monday to meet with US secretaries Pete Hegseth and Marco Rubio for the Australia-United States Ministerial Consultations (AUSMIN). Mr Marles, who also serves as defence minister, will afterward have a trilateral meet with Mr Hegseth and UK Defence Secretary John Healey to discuss AUKUS – the $368bn defence pact promising to arm Australia with nuclear-powered submarines. The ministers spruiked the Australia-US relationship on Sunday, with Mr Marles saying the “alliance with the United States is fundamental to our national security, built on our shared commitment to a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific”. “AUSMIN is an invaluable forum to set the strategic direction for the Alliance, including on defence and security,” he said. “I look forward to advancing our strong defence partnership, including through AUKUS and our longstanding US Force Posture Initiatives in Australia.” Senator Wong similarly praised Australia’s relationship with its “principal ally and strategic partner”. “For four decades, AUSMIN has enabled foreign and defence consultations during periods of great strategic change and challenge,” she said. “Together, we are working to shape the Indo-Pacific for the better. “AUSMIN 2025 is an opportunity to advance priorities that deliver for Australia, the United States and our region.” But the talks will not be without thorny issues. The White House this week released the US National Security Strategy. The wide-ranging 29-page document outlines how the Trump administration plans to safeguard its interests amid mounting global threats, from Russia’s war in Ukraine to China’s economic coercion in the Indo-Pacific. The strategy singles out China as the US’ main military and economic rival, arguing that “American economic and technological pre-eminence is the surest way to deter and prevent a large-scale military conflict” in the Indo-Pacific. It points to Taiwan as the likely flashpoint mostly because of its role in containing China’s navy as part of the First Island Chain, as well as its vitality to keeping crucial shipping lanes free. “Given that one-third of global shipping passes annually through the South China Sea, this has major implications for the US economy,” the strategy says. “Hence deterring a conflict over Taiwan, ideally by preserving military overmatch, is a priority.” It promises to “build a military capable of denying aggression anywhere in the First Island Chain” but adds that “the American military cannot, and should not have to, do this alone”. “Given President Trump’s insistence on increased burden-sharing from Japan and South Korea, we must urge these countries to increase defense spending, with a focus on the capabilities — including new capabilities — necessary to deter adversaries and protect the First Island Chain,” it says. “We will also harden and strengthen our military presence in the Western Pacific, while in our dealings with Taiwan and Australia we maintain our determined rhetoric on increased defense spending. “Preventing conflict requires a vigilant posture in the Indo-Pacific, a renewed defense industrial base, greater military investment from ourselves and from allies and partners, and winning the economic and technological competition over the long term.” Mr Hegseth personally requested the Albanese government hike defence spending to 3.5 per cent of GDP during a meeting with Mr Marles earlier this year. Canberra has firmly pushed back on it, with the Prime Minister saying Australia would determine its own defence spending. The issue also cropped up when Mr Albanese met Donald Trump at the White House in October. But taking questions from reporters, the US President’s concern was overshadowed by his praise for his Australian guest.