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Investing in Indo-Pacific Security
The United States, Australia and the United Kingdom are investing in peace and security in the Indo-Pacific region. In early February, Australia made the first payment of five-hundred million dollars toward a three-billion-dollar investment promised under a trilateral security agreement among the three nations known as AUKUS.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth recently held a first meeting with his Australian counterpart, Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Richard Marles.
Secretary Hegseth stressed the importance of AUKUS and enhanced cooperation on subsurface capabilities in the region:
“[T]his is not a mission in the Indo-Pacific that America can undertake by itself. It has to [include] robust allies and partners. Technology sharing and subs are a huge part of it.”
AUKUS, which was initially created in September 2021, has two intertwined goals. The first priority is the delivery of conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarines to Australia alongside a significant investment in the industrial bases of all three nations.
The second objective is to increase joint capabilities and interoperability among all three countries. This includes information sharing on technologies such as cyber capabilities, artificial intelligence, quantum technologies and further undersea capabilities.
As part of the security agreement, Australia is initially committed to purchasing three Virginia-class submarines from the United States. The partner nations will also collaborate to develop a new class of nuclear-powered attack submarine, the SSN-AUKUS. All submarines under the AUKUS agreement will meet global non-proliferation standards.
Secretary Hegseth noted that President Donald Trump is supportive of the AUKUS agreement and of investing in defense and security in the Indo-Pacific:
“Part of what President Trump is committed to doing is cutting red tape, investing of the defense industrial base, ensuring that we stand by our allies and partners. ... You're going to have no worse enemy and no better ally.”
“AUKUS is a very powerful symbol of our two countries working together in the Indo-Pacific,” said Defense Minister Marles. "It represents a very significant increase of the American footprint on the Australian continent."
The United States is committed to investing in our allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific and around the world.