U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth welcomed Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles to the Pentagon on Friday, after Australia made its first $500 million payment to the United States under the AUKUS nuclear submarine deal involving Washington, Canberra and London.
“The check did clear,” Hegseth joked to Marles and reporters ahead of the defense ministers’ meeting.
Marles said the “strength of American leadership” in the Indo-Pacific region is “critically important” to Australia. He added that the AUKUS submarine deal also represented an increase in Australian defense spending.
“We really understand the importance of building our capability, but in paying our way,” Marles told Hegseth.
Marles was the first foreign defense counterpart that Hegseth had hosted since his confirmation.
U.S. and Australian officials confirmed that Australia transferred the $500 million after a call between Marles and Hegseth late last month.
AUKUS is a trilateral partnership that Australia, the U.K. and the U.S. announced in September 2021 to support a “free and open Indo-Pacific” amid increased Chinese aggression.
The first initiative under AUKUS was aimed at strengthening the U.S. submarine industrial base so that Australia can acquire nuclear-powered attack submarines for the Royal Australian Navy. It also provides for the rotational basing of American and British nuclear submarines in Australia.
