Rubio, Pete Hegseth meet Australian counterparts for bilateral talks
Rubio praised the “incredibly strong alliance” between Washington and Canberra, highlighting that Australia “is our only ally that has fought with us in every war” over the past five decades. He added, “This is a very strong partnership. It's a strong alliance, and what we want to do is continue to build on it. We think we have a lot of momentum behind this alliance. We truly have no better friend.”
The discussions also touched on the trilateral security partnership AUKUS, which includes the UK, with Rubio noting that the initiative “is full steam ahead.” He referred to a “landmark” agreement signed in October on critical minerals, emphasizing their importance for economic growth and supply chain resilience.
“To build our economies and to prosper as economies, we have to have critical mineral supplies and supply chains that are reliable and that are diverse, and not overly invested in one place where they can be used as leverage against us or our partners of the world,” he said.
Although China was not explicitly mentioned, Rubio’s remarks appeared to allude to Beijing, which had recently eased critical mineral export restrictions following a bilateral meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the end of October.
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