Joint statement AUSMIN 2017
On 5 June, Ministerfor Foreign Affairs Julie Bishop, and Minister for Defence Senator MarisePayne, hosted U.S. Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson, and Secretary of Defense James Mattis in Sydney forthe annual Australia-United States Ministerial (AUSMIN) consultations.
AUSMIN 2017, the 27th AUSMIN meetingand the first under the Trump Administration, builds on the meeting between ourleaders on May 4 in New York that demonstrated the continued closeness of theAustralia-U.S. relationship. Thestrength and vitality of our Alliance is based on a shared commitment tofreedom and democracy and has enduring importance in our respective nationalsecurity, foreign and strategic policies.
Bilateral defence, security, andintelligence cooperation under the Alliance is as important today as it waswhen the ANZUS Treaty was signed in 1951. 2017 marks the 75th anniversary ofthe Battle of the Coral Sea and the 50th anniversary of the JointDefence Facility Pine Gap, with the 100th anniversary in 2018 ofAustralian and U.S. forces first fighting together at the World War I Battle ofHamel. Today, both countries are workingside by side in Iraq and Syria as part of the global coalition against ISIS,and continue to make military contributions to Afghanistan's security.
Australia and the United Statesreaffirmed their commitment to the Alliance at AUSMIN 2017, and decided tofurther expand defence and security cooperation, including: a commitment tofurther strengthen the interoperability of our armed forces; and continuedclose collaboration on capability development and defence technology. We confirmed our commitment to fullimplementation of the U.S.-Australia Force Posture Initiatives.
Australia and the United Statesunderlined their shared, deepening commitment to the security, stability andprosperity of the Indo-Pacific region, and to strong regional organisations,especially the East Asia Summit, APEC, and the ASEAN Defence MinistersMeeting-Plus. They urged all parties to refrainfrom further militarisation of disputed features, including in the South ChinaSea (SCS). They emphasised theimportance of upholding lawful freedom of navigation and overflight andadhering to the rules-based order. Theyconsidered the 2016 award by the Arbitral Tribunal under the UN Convention onthe Law of the Sea as a useful basis for further efforts to peacefully resolvedisputes in the SCS. They decided toincrease bilateral collaboration in relation to the Indo-Pacific, with a numberof activities to be taken forward ahead of AUSMIN 2018.
Both countries condemned NorthKorea's ongoing development of nuclear and missile programs and expressed theirdeep concern at the unacceptable threat this posed to the region and theworld. They committed to working closelytogether and with regional partners to implement sanctions and impose costs onthe regime for its destabilising behaviour and dangerous and unlawful pursuitof nuclear weapons.
Bothcountries discussed the importance of working with regional partners to address regional securitychallenges, including terrorism and the threat of returning foreign fighters, cyberthreats, and maritime security, and to support regional stability andprosperity. Australia and the UnitedStates pledged to continue to strengthen their trilateral cooperation withJapan, and to enhance their engagement with our regional allies and partners. In the wake of recent terrorist attacks in theUK, the Philippines, Indonesia, and elsewhere, the United States and Australiadiscussed ways to work together to counter terrorism, in the region andglobally.
Australia and the United States discussedour shared interest in the strength, growth and economic future of our Pacificneighbourhood. Both countries resolvedto deepen bilateral dialogue on the Pacific and to strengthen cooperation withPacific Island countries, including in the areas of maritime security,combatting trans-national threats to a secure Pacific, and APEC 2018 in PapuaNew Guinea.
The United States will host the nextAUSMIN meeting in 2018.