BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA – Australia will probably be seeing extra U.S. troops, extra U.S. planes, extra U.S. ships and extra U.S weapons as the 2 allies take what officers describe as a “major step” in strengthening and increasing their army alliance.
The United States and Australia unveiled the agreements to extend the rotational presence of American forces and capabilities, and to assist combine Australia into key U.S. protection manufacturing capabilities Saturday, following hours of talks by the highest U.S. and Australian protection and diplomatic officers.
“Australia at this moment has no better friend than America,’ Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles told reporters following the conclusion of the 33rd annual Australia-United States Ministerial Consultations in Brisbane, Australia.
Marles said the agreements include a larger U.S. rotational presence at Australia’s northern military bases, additional visits by U.S. vessels and maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft, and “an elevated tempo of visits from U.S. nuclear-powered submarines” until Australia is able to acquire its own with U.S. help.
Just as importantly, according to U.S. and Australian officials, the new agreements will pave the way for Australia to join the United States in the production of missiles and ammunition at a time when the war in Ukraine, and Western support, has eroded key stocks.
‘We hope to see manufacturing of missiles commenced in Australia in two years’ time,’ Marles said.
Australia’s Defense Minister Richard Marles, second from left, addresses U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin as Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong, left, looks on during discussions at Queensland Government House in Brisbane, Australia, on July 29, 2023.
The initial focus will be on Australian production of Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems, also known as GMLRS. However, U.S. officials said Washington also intends to support Australian production of 155 mm artillery shells, which have been in high demand in Ukraine.
“These initiatives will strengthen our capability to answer crises within the area whereas enhancing our interoperability,” U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said, describing the efforts as a “main step” for the U.S. and Australian defense industrial base.
‘Significant step forward’
Other U.S. officials agreed, suggesting Australia could eventually help with the production and maintenance of other weapons and systems.
“I feel what we’ve seen very clearly is the worth throughout the board on strengthening the protection industrial base, not simply of the United States, however of our allies and companions,” a senior U.S. defense official told reporters, speaking on the condition of anonymity. “We see this as a major step ahead.”
Marles and Austin, along with Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, also expressed confidence that despite the opposition of some U.S. lawmakers, an agreement to provide Australia with three nuclear-powered submarines will go through.
“This is in each our international locations’ curiosity,” Wong said, speaking alongside the others outside the Queensland Government House in Brisbane.
‘Whether it’s the acquisition of the AUKUS submarine capability or all of the other capabilities in which we are engaged … we see this as increasing the capability of our nations across many domains,” she mentioned.
The agreements additionally embody provisions for higher cooperation in area and for investments in Australia’s army infrastructure.
Blinken mentioned such cooperation is vital if the United States and Australia are to have the ability to push again in opposition to China and keep ‘a area the place international locations are free to chart their very own path and select their very own companions.”
“We’re doing that partly by participating China but additionally as obligatory opposing its efforts to disrupt freedom of navigation and overflight within the South and East China seas, to upend the established order that has preserved peace and stability throughout the Taiwan Strait, to strain international locations by way of financial coercion or threats to their residents,” he said.
Regional cooperation
U.S. officials, speaking on the sidelines of the ministerial, also said the two countries are looking to increase cooperation with other countries in the region. One example is a proposal for trilateral cooperation with Japan for exercises and training on the F-35 stealth fighter in Australia.
They also pointed to the current Talisman Sabre exercise, which this year has seen participation from India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand, as well as Papua New Guinea, Fiji and Tonga.
The officials also noted other agreements, such as the Defense Cooperation Agreement with Papua New Guinea and the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement with the Philippines.
“It is evolutionary,” said a second senior U.S. defense official, like the first briefing on the condition of anonymity.
“There’s numerous mini lateral and multilateral preparations which might be complementary … every of them is offering, in some methods, overlapping however distinctive provisions of safety,” the official said. “It is, once more, a profound pattern within the area.”