Department of Defense Spokesman John Ullyot provided the following readout:
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth met with Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Richard Marles at the Pentagon to discuss key priorities to advance through the U.S.-Australia Alliance. The leaders discussed shared security concerns in the Indo-Pacific region, accelerating U.S. force posture initiatives in Australia, advancing defense industrial base cooperation on munitions, and key regional partnerships. The Secretary welcomed Australia’s $500 million contribution under AUKUS to the U.S. Submarine Industrial Base that it provided this week as a key element of advancing defense industrial collaboration between our two countries and strengthening the bilateral alliance with Australia.
