Australia and Britain’s defence and foreign ministers arrived in Sydney on Friday for high-level talks aimed at deepening security and trade cooperation, with a key focus on the AUKUS nuclear submarine partnership. British Foreign Minister David Lammy and Defence Secretary John Healey met Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to discuss advancing the trilateral pact alongside the United States, which is currently reviewing the 2021 agreement.
The AUKUS initiative, designed to counter China’s growing military presence in the Indo-Pacific, will see Australia and Britain co-develop a new class of nuclear-powered submarines. According to Britain’s Ministry of Defence, a forthcoming treaty will underpin submarine programs and is projected to deliver up to £20 billion ($27 billion) in exports for the U.K. over 25 years. Healey described AUKUS as one of Britain’s “most important defence partnerships,” emphasizing its role in bolstering global security and domestic economic growth.
Following the Australia-United Kingdom Ministerial Consultations (AUKMIN), the delegation will travel to Darwin, where the British aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales is participating in the Talisman Sabre war games. The multinational exercises, running from July 13 to August 4, involve 40,000 troops from 19 nations and serve as a rehearsal for joint combat operations aimed at enhancing Indo-Pacific stability.
Britain has notably expanded its role in Talisman Sabre, contributing 3,000 troops to the drills co-hosted by Australia and the United States. The talks and military exercises highlight the growing strategic alignment between Canberra and London as both nations seek to reinforce regional security frameworks and economic ties amid rising geopolitical tensions in the region.