Defence Chiefs Back Expanding US Military Presence in Australia

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Washington and Canberra agreed on Wednesday to accelerate the expansion of the US military presence in Australia and deepen defense cooperation, with both governments citing China's military buildup as the driving force behind the move.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles met in Washington and agreed to "accelerate force posture initiatives at Australian bases, bolster cooperation in combined logistics, and build greater interoperability through joint exercises," the Pentagon said in a statement. The two also discussed progress on defense industrial cooperation to enable shared capacity for guided weapons and next-generation capabilities.

Marles told journalists after the meeting that China's expansion represented "the biggest conventional military build-up by any country in the world since the Second World War," and said deeper cooperation through the US alliance was essential to building deterrence and maintaining regional stability.

Hegseth said Canberra understood "the gravity of maintaining a favorable balance of power in the region."

Australia does not permit permanent foreign military bases on its soil but hosts US Marines in the northern city of Darwin for six months of the year. A rotating force of US-commanded submarines is scheduled to arrive in Western Australia next year.

Asked what the expanded force posture would involve, Marles pointed to cooperation in logistics, air forces, cyber, and space. US Marine Corps plans for a crisis-ready stockpile in Australia, first reported in June, are among the areas under discussion.

Australia has separately committed to its largest-ever military spending program to acquire nuclear-powered submarines under the AUKUS agreement with the United States and the United Kingdom. The first boats are expected next decade, though critics have questioned whether the deal guarantees Australia will ever receive them.

Australia has reshaped its defense force in recent years to prioritize missile strike capabilities and deterring potential threats from its northern approaches. The statements did not specify which Australian bases would receive expanded US presence or what new capabilities would be deployed, leaving the precise scope of the acceleration to be determined through subsequent planning.