Press conference AUSMIN

Richard Marles, Deputy Prime Minister: Well, thank you, everyone for coming here this afternoon. Today Penny and I participated in AUSMIN on the 40th anniversary of the establishment of AUSMIN with Secretary Marco Rubio, the Secretary of State, and Secretary Pete Hegseth, the Secretary of Defence, and it was a really productive meeting, very much in the spirit of the meeting which occurred between the Prime Minister and the President in October, and indeed at that meeting where the President made clear that we were moving full steam ahead with the alliance and full steam ahead with AUKUS, full steam ahead was something of a motto for what we were talking about today, and it really was a very constructive, warm, frank meeting between the four of us, which took the alliance forward another year. We all acknowledge that we are living in an increasingly contested world, and it's a world in which it really matters to be doubling down on friends, and in this instance doubling down on alliance partners, and of course the alliance is the centrepiece of our foreign and strategic policy, it is fundamentally important to Australia's national security, and that was very much at the heart of the discussions today. Next year will be the 75th anniversary of the formal establishment of the alliance, which occurred back in 1951, and with that in mind, from a defence perspective, we were very keen to make sure that the momentum that is there and the relationship continues over the next 12 months in respect of defence. And so, there were very significant ‑ or significant progress that we made in relation to that. Specifically, firstly, in respect of AUKUS, we all affirmed the importance of the timeframe of Submarine Rotational Force ‑ West beginning at HMAS Stirling south of Perth in Quarter 4 of 2027, and we've reaffirmed the significance of that. And I might say that what has occurred there in an increased frequency of visits of US submarines and an increased complexity of maintenance of those submarines is really encouraging progress in terms of meeting that milestone. In the last six weeks, we've had the USS Vermont undertake the most extensive maintenance on a United States nuclear-powered submarine outside of the United States ever, and all of that was done with Australian workers doing that work, and again, that is a first in terms of non‑Americans working to that extent on a United States nuclear‑powered submarine. A theme over the previous AUSMINs that both Penny and I have been involved in has been the growth of American Force Posture in Australia, that continued in what we discussed today and coming out of today's meeting that there will be further infrastructure investments at RAAF base Darwin, RAAF Base Tindal and RAAF Base Amberley, which will support increased rotations of American military aircraft, that includes fighter planes, bombers and intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft, and that builds on the existing rotations which are happening right now, but it highlights the significance within the context of all of our Force Posture, of the Force Posture that is now underway in the air domain. We are growing our logistics work, and this AUSMIN, we've agreed to see the pre-positioning of significant American assets in Australia, and that includes the Ospreys, which are operated by the United States Marines and particularly through the Marine Rotational Force ‑ Darwin, and that was a very important outcome. We've also established the US Oversight and Support Group. This is a measure that we have been seeking to have from the United States now for some years, so we're really pleased that it forms an outcome of this year's AUSMIN. Given the growing American footprint in Australia, what we've really been seeking is a coordination of that on the American side, and that is what this group will be, and it's a really important administrative outcome of this year's AUSMIN. In the space of working together on defence industry, we've agreed a two‑year plan, two-year pathway in respect of the Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance Enterprise, and that will see the development, co‑production and co‑sustainment of hypersonic cruise missiles, it will also see the sustainment of the AIM‑9X missile, and AMRAAMs. And again, this is a really important measure in terms of us collaborating in terms of guided weapons. And finally, as an important enabler of all of that, we talked about continuing to build a seamless defence industrial base between our two countries, and further removing the barriers which have existed over the years to having that occur, and we've seen really significant headway in that respect over the last few years, but this AUSMIN continues in that regard. Penny will speak more about critical minerals, but the framework that was agreed between the President and the Prime Minister in October really is a game‑changer, and importantly, we spoke about the significance of that in relation to national security. Taken as a whole, this has been a really important AUSMIN. Of course, it's the first AUSMIN that we have done since the election of President Trump, obviously the first AUSMIN that we've done with Secretaries Hegseth and Rubio; deeply constructive, very substantive, and all of us are very excited about how we are taking this relationship into the future and what next year holds.

Penny Wong, Foreign Minister: Thanks very much, Richard. Well, as you know, this is, I think, my third time in Washington this year, so I've had a fair bit of time with Secretary Rubio, and he is a very good friend of Australia's, and we thank him for his involvement across the board. As Richard said, and as I said in the opening, today is 40 years of the Foreign and Defence Ministers' consultation in the context of the Alliance, so that's a historic date, and it was a historic meeting. It was a meeting today where we spoke about our shared vision, for particularly our region, where we worked through a set of practical programs and projects that deliver for Australia and deliver for the United States and deliver for the Indo‑Pacific region. As Richard said, we did speak about the operationalisation of the agreement between President Trump and the Prime Minister in relation to critical minerals and progress on that front. We spoke about strategic financing of critical infrastructure in Southeast Asia and the Pacific, and we have particularly strengthened cooperation on transnational crime and cyber threats. Obviously scams and the way they are being utilised or the way they are a problem in all our countries is a particular focus for Secretary Rubio. We agreed on a range of measures to strengthen the strategic aspects of the alliance, which Richard has gone through. I just want to say it was an excellent meeting, how much I appreciate the personal engagement with Secretary Rubio, and he's very generous with his time, and we have had some very good discussions both in the context of AUSMIN, but also in the context of the Quad. You should have the announcements associated with the meeting, and we're very happy to take questions.

Journalist: Deputy Prime Minister, what changes to AUKUS did the Pentagon's review urge, and how do they speak to the ambiguities that we heard the US Navy Secretary mention during that meeting with the Prime Minister and President?

Marles: Look, as I mentioned last week, we received the AUKUS Review from the United States last week, and we're very grateful for having received it, as we are in fact for the visibility which they provided to us all throughout the review, and the way in which they enabled us to contribute to the review. I mean, in the context of moving full steam ahead, and that is very much the context in which the review has been written, the review is essentially looking at ways in which AUKUS can be done better, and we continue to work with the United States and the United Kingdom about how we can do AUKUS better. It's really important that we take these opportunities, as we did with Stephen Lovegrove's Review the UK undertook and as in fact occurred with our own Defence Strategic Review, where we also reviewed AUKUS, to look at the ways in which we can make sure that this very, very significant endeavour happens to the best possible effect for our three countries, and we will continue to work in that way.

Journalist: Minister Marles, does doing AUKUS better? Does that mean that the review conveyed an expectation that Australia would contribute more to defence spending, and does it also mean honing down the range of capabilities on AUKUS Pillar II?

Marles: Well, firstly, the review is very much, as I said, in the context of full steam ahead on AUKUS and how important AUKUS is for the strategic outcome of all three countries and how much it is in the strategic interests of all three countries, and that was very much articulated by President Trump during his meeting with Prime Minister Albanese. In terms of defence spending, we have made clear from the ‑ well, consistently, that our attitude to defence spending is really to assess what kind of capabilities that we need and the means we have to build the Defence Force that is required to meet our strategic moment, and then to resource that. And what has occurred as a result of that process is the biggest peacetime increase in Australia's defence spending that we have seen, and that is something which is acknowledged by the United States.

Journalist: It was certainly very warm in the room when we all saw you, but behind closed doors, you said conversations were frank. Were you asked ‑ was the Australian Government asked to increase our defence spending again today?

Marles: Well, I've made the comments that I have in relation to defence spending. We've been very clear about our position in relation to defence spending and where that has led, and that has led to the biggest increase in peacetime defence spending in Australia's history, and that is acknowledged by the US. But I think that in describing the conversations as frank, it speaks to the closeness of the relationship that we are able to really go through in a very frank way with the current situation, the strategic circumstances that we face around the world, the kind of challenges that we face, and we get into that in a pretty granular way, and I'm not going to give you a running commentary on all of that. I mean, those are all conversations which happen behind closed doors. But the warmth that you saw on display in the public comments is very much reflected in the way in which that meeting was conducted behind closed doors. It was genuinely free‑flowing, and that is one of the ‑ you know, it's an incredible opportunity as it has been ‑ I mean it's our fourth AUSMIN ‑ as it has been all along, to be able to speak in, you know, in a really frank, trusted environment with our key ally about where the world is at and how we together can meet that strategic moment, and today was very much in that mould.

Journalist: Minister, both you and Secretary Hegseth have talked about how the review suggested changes that could be made to strengthen AUKUS to make it better. Joe Courtney, the Congressman over here, also talked about critical deadlines that need to be met to ensure its success. I think what we're wondering is what you can tell us about what those changes are and what the critical deadlines are that need to be met?

Marles: Well, we are very focused on the critical deadlines, and I spoke to one of them in my opening today, and it is the most significant deadline which comes up in the next couple of years, and that is the deadline to commence Submarine Rotation Force ‑ West in Quarter 4 of 2027. So that's really essentially that we are able to have the SRF‑West established at that time, given the significance that SRF‑West plays, both in terms of giving the United States an operational capacity from HMAS Stirling, but also readying us to operate our own nuclear‑powered submarines. Now within that, there are a whole lot of milestones, smaller milestones that we are needing to meet to lead‑up to Quarter 4, 2027, and we're doing that, and again, the tender package that we did in respect of the USS Vermont in the last six weeks is, you know, is as significant a milestone as we've had this year; getting done on time, done really successfully, acknowledged across the board.Now, it matters, every day matters here, I think one of the challenges with a project of this length of time is that, you know, it's easy at one level to think you've got lots of time, but in fact every day counts, and we don't have lots of time, and we need to be focusing on every milestone that comes before us in the here and now so that we get this thing done, and that's what we spoke about.

Journalist: Minister Marles, I am going to try as well, is there a reason why you're reluctant to give any detail to the Australian public about what America is asking? This is a hundreds of billions dollar program, and you just seem to be talking very high-level about the conversation and not willing to actually tell Australia what America is asking of us.

Marles: Well, look, obviously I don't accept that. I mean there are a couple of points to make. Firstly, the review is their review, so I'm seeking to respect that, but you know, we're really clear about what America is asking of us and what we're asking of America and what both of us are asking of the United Kingdom. I mean there is an incredible amount of information and detail which is out there around the optimal pathway that all of us need to follow in order for Australia ultimately to acquire this capability and for America to have a rotational presence at HMAS Stirling, and we are going through all of that; we've not been shy in conveying all of that publicly and all of that, of course, formed part of the conversation today. But, you know, to give you a sense of emphasis about what we think as a group of four is really important in terms of the progress of AUKUS, meeting that Quarter 4 deadline in 2027, as I said in my opening, it really does loom as a critical date, but we're on target for that, and all the milestones, the building blocks that we need to meet on the way up to that, we are meeting, and there is a sense that's progressing well. But it really is a very key date.

Journalist: Minister, as part of the AUKUS Review, all your discussions today, were there any assurances sought about Australia's position in the event of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan?

Marles: Oh, look, I mean, what we're not going to do, firstly, we're not going to go into a whole lot of the details of the conversation, but the last thing we're going to do is speculate about those matters. Fundamentally, what we are all doing, both United States and Australia in everything that we do in terms of building our defence capabilities, building our interoperability, enabling America to do more from the Australian continent and for us to work together is about contributing to the collective peace and security of the Indo‑Pacific, and that's actually what we are trying to achieve. This is about deterring conflict, and it is about promoting peace, and again, we spoke about all of that in our conversation today. And so, our focus in all that we talk about is how we can work together to promote peace and stability, and that's very much at the heart of our efforts.

Journalist: Minister, on another topic, if you don't mind, on the topic of migration, this administration has been very clear that it wants to get legal and illegal immigration in its country in check, which is its right. But lately it's been, you know, pushing a view or sending a warning to other countries about the consequences of migration in their countries. So specifically, Australia is one of a number of countries asked to give information on the levels of crime done by migrants. I wonder specifically if you'll meet that request to hand over that data, and if migration came up today and how you manage the push of that view from the US?

Wong: Well, I think I've been clear probably from the American election campaign that President Trump envisages a different role for America and the world, and that doesn't come as a surprise. In relation to Australia, we have a very clear position in terms of a non-discriminatory immigration policy, we have a very clear view about the importance and value of multiculturalism, and we will maintain that view.

Journalist: Do you plan to meet the request on the data around migrant crime?

Wong: You know, we will continue to advocate for the multicultural, diverse society that we are, which, as you know as Foreign Minister, I have been very clear about, I believe, is one of our great strengths in the world, and it enables us to find common ground with so many other communities and nations around the world. It's a diplomatic strength.

Journalist: Minister Marles, just circling back to AUKUS very quickly, isn't one of the problems you have here that the AUKUS Review has not been made public, as you said, it is a US review. You're getting asked a lot of questions about this review, and it hasn't been made public. Is there any agreement or understanding between the members of AUKUS for the findings of that review to be released or made public in some form, or is this just going to remain confidential?

Marles: Well, look, all I can say to you is that this is the US's review, and we respect that. But, you know, the thrust of the review, as ours was, as the Lovegrove Report was, was about how we can do AUKUS better. And it is very much in a context of moving full steam ahead on AUKUS, and that right there is an important point to understand about the review, that is the context in which this review has been written, and obviously, we come to all our engagement with both the US and the UK about how we can do AUKUS better.

Journalist: Would you support it being made public, though? Would you like America to do that?

Marles: I'm not going to be drawn on that. It is America's document, and you know, obviously, you can keep asking that question, but I'm going to respect the fact that it is America's review. I've given you the thrust of it and the character of it. I don't think it's appropriate that I go into it more than that. But we will obviously continue to work very closely with the United States about how we can – and with the United Kingdom, of course – about how we can move forward with AUKUS in the best possible way. And you know, in the context of what we are doing there, we are incredibly open about all that needs to be achieved, all that needs to be done, and all that's being spent, the costs involved in that, and we will continue to provide all that transparency.

Journalist: And on the transparency in the review, the recommendations in the review about how to make AUKUS better, does the Australian Government agree with those recommendations?

Marles: Look, again, we are working through ‑ we are working with the United States and the United Kingdom about how we can make AUKUS better, and that's all I'm going to say in relation to that.

Journalist: And on the transparency question, today we weren't given the opportunity to ask questions at AUSMIN, which is unusual; I've done a few of these. Whose decision was that, and did you – was there a reason why we weren't able to ask the questions that we're asking now?

Marles: Well, look, you've got us here right now, and we're answering lots of questions, and we're very happy to do that, and you know, we will always be here to talk to you about how the relationship is progressing, and how any aspect of it is, including AUKUS.

Journalist: But it was the US decision not to hold [indistinct] ‑‑

Marles: I'm not going to go into that. We're here right now answering your questions.

Journalist: Was there any progress with trade negotiations to see a reduction in the tariffs that we're being charged at the moment?

Wong: I think the United States is well aware of our view on trade. You know, we have a view that open trade is a good thing for both consumers and producers. We've continued to advocate that, obviously, Australia is in a better position than many other countries vis‑à‑vis access to the US market, and we've been clear from day one, our position on tariffs.

Journalist: Was Australia's social media ban for children discussed today at all, and did the administration raise any concerns about either the policy or the way in which Australia is engaging with other countries on it?

Wong: Well, look, I'm always reluctant to go into every aspect of conversations, but what you can take as read is that our focus very much was on the Alliance, the Indo‑Pacific, how we work together for Australians, for the United States and for the region. So that was very much the focus of the discussion, not these domestic issues.

Journalist: Was there any discussion about it?

Wong: I think I've answered that question.

Journalist: Minister Marles, you that you respect it as an American review. Do you respect the fact, though, that for the Australian public, there is their major security agreement for going into the future; they are the ones paying for it, it's their security, and yet you seem to be wanting to keep from the Australian public the key issues that the Americans still want negotiated. Why won't you tell Australians what the Americans want additional to what they've agreed to?

Marles: Well, I don't accept the way in which you've asserted that. Obviously, as we move forward, we respect each of our partners in this process.

Journalist: What about the Australian public? Why don't you respect them?

Marles: Again, I don't accept the assertion that you're making there. But we seek to move forward in the matter of respect with our partners, as I said. We are really transparent with the Australian public ‑‑

Journalist: You're not, you're keeping them in the dark.

Marles: Well, obviously you can keep interrupting and ‑‑

Journalist: You're not telling us things.

Marles: Well, if you want to keep talking, obviously we can put the floor to you, but if you want me to answer, you'll need to let me answer. So ‑ without interruption.

Journalist: What more do the Americans want?

Marles: America, and the United Kingdom and Australia's obligations in respect of AUKUS is really clear. Now, AUKUS is underpinned by a treaty document which is public. The Optimal Pathway that we announced back in March of 2023 is really public. The detail underpinning it, the cost of it, the progress of it, we have consistently and frequently reported to the Australian people on all of that. And all of that is part of the expectations that each country has of each other. We have done, you know, numerous AUKUS Defence Ministers' meetings, in which Defence Ministers of the three countries have stood up and commented and talked about the progress of AUKUS. So, I simply don't accept the assertion that you've made, and in fact if you look at the degree to which we talk about AUKUS and talk about its progress and report to the Australian people on it, it is extensive. And in that respect, I would want to say that this is happening on time. We are meeting the milestones that we set out, achieving the beginning of the Submarine Rotational Force ‑ West in the final quarter of 2027 is really important, but we are on track to achieving that, as we are in respect of the other elements, and in the middle of this year we signed the Geelong Treaty which was the underpinning document, bilateral document which sits under the trilateral arrangement between ourselves and the United Kingdom, you know, the Western Australian Premier this time last year, we announced the establishment of the Henderson Defence precinct, again, a critical building block of AUKUS, and the Prime Minister was at Henderson a few months ago announcing a major contribution of $12 billion to the establishment of that. So you go through every moment, and we have been very upfront with the Australian people about what we are seeking to do here, indeed the challenges that we're meeting and the way in which we're dealing with them and moving forward and moving forward on time.

Journalist: Just to give you one more opportunity to be really transparent about a specific element of it, the $1 billion ‑ the extra $1 billion that the War Secretary mentioned today that's being paid, or maybe already has, do we get – does the Australian people get a kind of itemised list, for lack of a better word, on what that actually achieves, because I was listening to the Admiral Daryl Caudle, you know, speak at the Reagan Conference on the weekend who said, you know, it's no good – he wasn't talking about this specifically, but he said, you know, the problem is not that we need to give everyone an extra iPad or, you know, that we have a serious workforce issue here in the United States. So does that money solve that workforce issue? What do we get out of it?

Marles: So, a few bits in that, and I'll answer that, but I'll make this last one. And we will make that payment shortly. We've been making those payments in accordance with the schedule that we agreed with the United States, and that payment, the schedule in respect of that payment is to pay it by the end of this year, so that will be shortly made. It contributes to the industrial base here in the United States. It is about improving both the production and sustainment rates of the industrial base here in the United States in respect of Virginia-class submarines going into the United States Navy. We do get a sense, obviously, of how that money is spent, and the contribution that it is making to increase those production rates, and we feel very confident about the way in which that is having an impact, along with obviously American expenditure as well in the space, to see the production rates move to a point which enables the space for Australia to have the acquisition of our own Virginia‑class submarine in the early 2030s. We're actually really confident about how that progress is going, because all of that is about increasing the number of sea days of Virginia‑class submarines in the United States Navy, and you know, where we're getting to here ultimately is that there is more than a submarine's worth of that being contributed to the United States Navy by the time we get to 2032 where a submarine will be therefore transferred to Australia. So, it is a really important contribution. It's not the only factor in terms of increasing those production rates, nor is it our only contribution to it, meaning right now we've got 200 Australian workers who are in Pearl Harbor who are working on the sustainment of Virginia‑class submarines for the United States Navy, so it's in addition to the financial contributions that we're making. All of this is working to increase the production and sustainment rate, and we will be seeing a really significant growth in the number of sea days available to the US Navy, and we're very confident that that will give rise to the space for the transfer of the US Virginia‑class submarine at the beginning ‑ in the early 2030s. Thank you.

Wong: Thank you.