The United States will help Australia produce guided missile systems within the next two years, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Saturday during a visit to the eastern Australian city of Brisbane.

The announcement comes as Australia seeks to overhaul its military capacity and develop long-range strike capacities amid a range of regional security threats, such as China's increased assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific region.

At the same time, the US is looking to bolster its own shrinking arms stockpiles, which have been strained by deliveries to Ukrainian armed forces fighting an invasion by Russia.

What did US and Australian officials say?

"We are pursuing several mutually beneficial initiatives with Australia's defense industry, and these include a commitment to help Australia produce guided multiple launch rocket systems ... by 2025," Austin told a press conference. 

He said that Washington was also expediting Australia's access to priority munitions. 

In response, Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles said Canberra was "really pleased with the steps that we are taking in respect of establishing a guided weapons and explosive ordnance enterprise in this country." 

Marles said the bilateral engagement with the US would also mean that there would be an "increased tempo of visits from American nuclear-powered submarines to our waters."

Increasing military cooperation

The project that has been announced would see Australia develop guided multiple launch rocket systems, or so-called GMLRS.  

The announcement followed a meeting of Austin and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken with Marles and Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong as part of the Australia-US Ministerial (AUSMIN) dialogue. The otherwise annual talks were put on hold for two years in 2020 and 2021 owing to the coronavirus pandemic.

The discussions took place as Australian and US forces are conducting Talisman Sabre war games along with 11 other nations.  The games, however, were suspended after an Australian military helicopter crashed into the ocean, with at least four people onboard feared dead.

Australia and the US are stepping up military cooperation particularly in view of the security risk posed by China's massive military buildup in recent years.

tj/wd (Reuters, AFP)