US SecDef visits Australia
United States Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has arrived in Australia to meet with his counterpart Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Richard Marles, and other government leaders.
CAPTION: US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin’s plane lands in Brisbane at the start of an official visit. Photos by CONTACT stringer Christabel Migliorini. Follow Chrissie on Instagram.
As part of his eighth official visit to the Indo-Pacific region, Secretary Austin travelled first to Papua New Guinea to meet with Prime Minister Marape, along with Minister for Defence Win Bakri Daki, Secretary for Defence Hari John Akipe, and Chief of Defence Force Major General Mark Goina.
This was the first ever visit to Papua New Guinea by a sitting US Secretary of Defense.
In Australia, Mr Austin and Mr Marles are expected to be joined by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong to participate in the 33rd annual Australia-United States Ministerial Consultations (AUSMIN) to advance cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region and globally.
This year’s AUSMIN will highlight, among numerous other topics, the historic progress the nations are making together on force posture modernisation, defence industrial-base cooperation, and regional security integration.
Secretary Austin will also visit US and Australian service members participating in Exercise Talisman Sabre.
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