By Jim Morris, Warrior Vice President, News
The US is deepening its military ties with Australia as it beefs up its presence in the Indo-Pacific.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin II and his Australian counterpart, Richard Marles, spoke at a press conference in Annapolis, Md. Wednesday following the 34th Australia-US Ministerial Consultations. They announced a number of initiatives, including a plan to increase the number of US bombers and reconnaissance planes operating from bases in northern Australia.
The Pentagon also said the two countries would move forward on co-production of Guided Multiple Rocket Systems (GMLRS) and development of the Precision Strike Missile (PrSM).
“We’re doubling down on our defense industrial base cooperation, and this includes supporting Australia’s guided weapons and explosive ordinance enterprise, “ Austin said. “By the end of the year, we’re aiming to sign two memorandums of understanding on critical munitions.”
The US also will expand the duration of regular rotations of Army watercraft to Australia, and preposition Army equipment there. Meanwhile, Japan will increase its maneuvers with a US Marine “rotational force” that spends six months of the year in Darwin. And Australian and US forces will conduct joint exercises in the Philippines exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
“Today’s meetings have once again demonstrated the extraordinary strength of our unbreakable alliance with Australia,” Austin said
Last month, Reuters reported that the US has “quietly begun constructing hundreds of millions of dollars worth of facilities (in northern Australia) to support B-52 bombers, F-22 stealth fighters and refueling and transport aircraft – all part of a larger effort to distribute US forces around the region and make them less vulnerable.”
In a statement released after the meetings, the two countries made it clear that China’s aggressiveness in the region is the most critical issue. They noted China’s “dangerous and escalatory behavior toward Philippine vessels lawfully operating within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.”
And they “reaffirmed the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and their share opposition to unilateral changes to the status quo.” If that wasn’t clear enough, the statement also expressed “strong concern” about stepped-up Chinese military activity around Taiwan.
China has expressed concerns about the trilateral security pact between Australia, the UK and the US (AUKUS). Last May, Beijing said it was “staunchly against certain countries forming exclusive clusters, establishing bilateral or multilateral alliances aimed at China, fostering division, and inciting block confrontations.”
The AUKUS nuclear attack submarines project will result in Australia getting its first nuclear-powered sub by 2040. The submarines will use technologies from all three nations, and will be powered by Rolls-Royce’s pressurized water reactors.
