The US will ramp up its military presence in Australia after a meeting between Richard Marles and Pete Hegseth. (Reuters: Kylie Cooper)
Defence Minister Richard Marles met with his US counterpart, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, in Washington DC and discussed US "force posture" in Australia.
Any expansion would come on top of the existing US presence in Australia, including US Marine rotations through Darwin and the creation of Submarine Rotational Force—West in WA.
Mr Marles also met with AI companies and flagged announcements about an expanded US military presence are expected in coming months.
The US military's presence in Australia is set to grow further, with the defence minister flagging upcoming announcements on a greater US "force posture" on Australian soil.
Richard Marles met with his US counterpart, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, in Washington DC and discussed an expansion of the US presence on Australian military bases.
The United States already has a significant military presence in Australia through existing force posture agreements, including the annual rotation of US Marines through Darwin, and the establishment of Submarine Rotational Force — West at HMAS Stirling near Perth.
About 1,000 US Navy personnel are set to be based at HMAS Stirling from next year to support American Virginia-class submarines operating out of the naval base.
Mr Marles said the US military presence will grow further, with announcements expected when he and Foreign Minister Penny Wong meet their US counterparts in the next few months.
"You'll hear more from us about what [those changes] are at AUSMIN when we meet," he said.
"But … since we've come to government, you can see a through-line of growing American force in Australia, and we think that's really important in terms of providing deterrence in the Indo-Pacific, providing for stability and peace in the Indo-Pacific.
"And that's very much in Australia's national interest."
Australia's northern borders are often highlighted as points of weakness but could the United States bolster our defences by making use of bare northern bases?
The Pentagon's readout of the meeting pointed to plans to grow the American military presence in Australia by "accelerat[ing] force posture initiatives at Australian bases".
It suggested greater military-industrial cooperation between the two countries, including guided missile production.
