LIVE: Blinken meets Australian FM amid new security partnership

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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defence Lloyd J. Austin meet with Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne and Australian Defence Minister Peter Dutton in Washington, DC On Thursday, September 16.

The meeting takes place following US President Joe Biden’s announcement earlier this week, regarding the establishment of a new Indo-Pacific security alliance with Britain and Australia. The initiative began with the aim of expanding cooperation on a range of security and defence capabilities between the nations. Leaders of the three countries have indicated that the first initiative of the alliance would be to develop nuclear-powered submarines for Australia. 

The announcement was swiftly followed by comments from Beijing, claiming that the three countries should abandon their ‘Cold War’ mentality. In addition, France expressed dissatisfaction with the move, and New Zealand said it would ban Australian submarines from its waters, following its policy regarding the presence of nuclear submarines.