IRIA News

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III visited Papua New Guinea and Australia on his trip to Indo-Pacific from July 26-30, 2023, to strengthen military ties with regional countries, observe Talisman Sabre Exercise, and attend Australia-U.S. Ministerial Consultations.

In Papua New Guinea, Austin had a meeting with Prime Minister James Marape and discussed the strength of the bilateral relationship and security issues of mutual concern.

The U.S. defense secretary also met with Papua New Guinea’s Minister for Defence Win Bakri Daki, Secretary for Defence Hari John Akipe, and Chief of Defence Force Major General Mark Goina.

During his meeting with Papua New Guinea’s defense officials, Austin discussed areas of bilateral importance including the recently signed “U.S.-Papua New Guinea Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA) and increased exercise cooperation between the United States and Papua New Guinea.”

According to the Pentagon statement, Austin also discussed the bilateral “Agreement Concerning Counter Illicit Transnational Maritime Activity Operations, or “shiprider agreement” with the country’s defense leadership.

The statement added that “The leaders had a productive exchange of views on efforts to build capacity to provide humanitarian assistance/disaster relief, improve maritime domain awareness, combat climate change, and address illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing in the region, including through the upcoming visit of a U.S. Coast Guard cutter to Papua New Guinea.”

Austin first U.S. defense secretary to visit Papua New Guinea

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin became the first U.S. defense chief to visit Papua New Guinea. During his visit to the island nation, Austin thanked the PNG leaders for their support of the DCA and underscored his commitment to implementing the agreement after the completion of the ratification process by the PNG government.

The leaders also noted the importance of bilateral efforts to bolster security cooperation and address shared challenges in the Indo-Pacific region.

It’s great to be here in Port Moresby and I’m honored to be the first US Secretary of Defense to visit 🇵🇬Papua New Guinea. I’m extremely proud of the progress we’ve made together to deepen our defense ties and welcome future bilateral collaboration. pic.twitter.com/1gBe8kl4A3

— Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III (@SecDef) July 27, 2023

According to the Department of Defense statement, “The trip is a continuation of Austin’s outreach to the Indo-Pacific region. The first trip he took upon taking office was to the Indo-Pacific and the emphasis on the pacing challenge that China poses globally hasn’t shifted.”

Austin’s visit to Australia

After concluding his trip to Papua New Guinea, Austin arrived in Australia, where he met with the country’s defense officials and visited U.S. and Australian troops at Exercise Talisman Sabre. The exercise included service members from Canada, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.

During the exercise, the Allies also practiced amphibious landings and benefited from U.S. amphibious training. More than 30,000 military personnel from allied nations took part in the two-week exercise and performed multidomain warfare, naval and air drills, and different military operations.

This year marks the 10th iteration of the biennial exercise Talisman Sabre. The main purpose of the drills is to “advance a free and open Indo-Pacific by strengthening partnerships and interoperability among key allies,” the Pentagon statement highlighted.

While in Australia, U.S. Defense Secretary Austin and Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Richard Marles also discussed advancing defense industrial cooperation, production, and information sharing.

According to the Department of Defense, “Part of this will be through the Australia-United Kingdom-United States agreement and part through U.S. support for Australia’s guided weapons and explosive ordnance enterprise. This last is Australia’s effort to manufacture and produce precision-guided munitions.”

Austin while speaking about the bilateral cooperation between the U.S. and Australia said that “Today, our cooperation is key. It’s key to our shared vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific in a world of rules and rights. We seek a region where all countries are secure and prosperous, where states follow international law and international norms, and where disputes are resolved peacefully without coercion.”

The U.S. defense chief also discussed ongoing efforts by the United States, Australia, and Japan to “expand the scope and complexity of trilateral exercises, advance science and technology cooperation, and explore ways to bring Japan into U.S.-Australia training and exercise cooperation in northern Australia,” the Pentagon statement read.

The U.S. and Australia also plan to work together with like-minded partners including India, Indonesia, the Philippines, and the Republic of Korea, and to build capacity in Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands.

US officials in Brisbane for annual AUSMIN talks

On July 29, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and their Australian counterparts, Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Penny Wong, met in Brisbane, Australia for the 33rd Australia-U.S. Ministerial Consultations (AUSMIN).

The U.S. and Australian officials agreed to enhance force posture cooperation, capability development and defense industrial base cooperation, and regional security integration.

According to the Pentagon statement, the U.S. and Australian officials “reaffirmed their commitment to operationalize the Alliance, the United States and Australia advanced key priorities across an ambitious range of force posture cooperation efforts.”

Australia and the United States are old friends and steadfast allies. 🇦🇺🇺🇸

This year’s AUSMIN meeting in Brisbane is a chance to reaffirm our shared values and interests. pic.twitter.com/QzJz0133rv

— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) July 28, 2023

The statement further highlighted that the allies also “reaffirming the importance of maximizing the strategic and technological advantage of the Alliance in an age of heightened strategic competition, the United States and Australia advanced a number of key priorities to strengthen their advanced capabilities and the health of their defense industrial bases.”

The U.S. and Australia also agreed to “uphold a global order based on international law, including the fundamental principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity” as well as strengthen “mutual alliances, partnerships, and trilateral and multilateral security arrangements”, particularly with Japan, as well as other regional allies including South Korea, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, and the Pacific island nations.

The 🇦🇺Australia-🇺🇸U.S. Alliance is an anchor of peace and stability. At AUSMIN 2023, @SecBlinken and I held productive discussions with our Australian counterparts @RichardMarlesMP and Foreign Minister @SenatorWong to ensure we advance bilateral security and defense cooperation. pic.twitter.com/doGVQ2Nuj6

— Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III (@SecDef) July 29, 2023