Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S.-Australia partnership is essential during the 32nd annual Australia-United States Ministerial Consultations.
Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III hosted Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defense Richard Marles Dec. 6 in Washington, D.C. to advance cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region, according to a Dec. 6 joint statement. They discussed issues in the Info-Pacific region and worked to strengthen military ties.
“Today, the 2022 #AUSMINConsultations here in D.C. highlighted that the U.S.-Australia partnership is as essential as ever to the safety and prosperity of both our countries and the Indo-Pacific region,” Blinken said in a Dec. 6 post on Twitter.
The longevity of the annual meeting shows the Australian-American alliance’s enduring importance, Blinken said, according to a release of the remarks at the meeting.
“We have an enduring commitment to our Alliance – and evolving the Alliance to deepen collaboration is central to our security, and to the security of our region,” Wong, who is also senator for South Australia, said in a post on Twitter.
The ministers discussed defense and security cooperation to ensure readiness to “deter aggression, counter coercion and make space for sovereign decision making,” according to the joint statement. Discussions included Taiwan’s role as a leading democracy in the Indo-Pacific region, which is an essential regional economy, and a key contributor to critical supply chains.
They also considered strong opposition to destabilizing actions in the South China Sea, promoting stability and transparency for nuclear weapons and human rights violations in Xinjiang, Tibet and Iran, the statement reported.
Recognizing that Russia’s war on Ukraine is affecting food security, food supplies and fertilizer imports and hindering regional recovery from the pandemic, they called on Russia “to continue participating in the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which reduces the prices of essential grains, cereals and oil,” the joint statement said.
