SECRETARY OF WAR PETE HEGSETH: Well, good afternoon, everybody. Welcome to the Pentagon. Richard, John, thank you so much. I can't count how many meetings we've had at this point. And I say that only out of goodness because the strength of our alliances, our bilateral relationships, trilateral relationships are as strong as they've ever been.
And as President Trump has laid out from the beginning, the president loves supporting countries that step up and in â whether it's in the Indo-Pacific or on the â on the continent, the discussions we've had are a reflection of both Australia and the UK stepping up. And you see through AUKUS and the review that we conducted, its continued commitment to a pragmatic practical application of hard power between our countries that reflect peace through strength and also hard power, real capabilities that demonstrate a deterrent effect that we all want.
We may lead our departments of war ministers of defense, but our goal is peace on behalf of the American people, the Australian people and the UK, and we pursue that together on behalf of our leadership. So, it's a privilege to have you at the Pentagon, look forward to talking more in depth about AUKUS and our partnerships.
And I would be remiss also, John, if I didn't mention the passing of your paratrooper in â in Ukraine. And we're certainly â our thoughts and prayers go out to you and to him and his family. And it's a reflection of the sacrifice and commitment of so many â that so many make around the world.
So, thank you both for being here. Welcome to the Pentagon look forward to our discussions. Richard?
RICHARD MARLES: Thank you. Thank you. Well, let me start there and also, I pass on my condolences, John, to George â to George Hooley's family and, you know, we are all very much thinking of you at this moment. Pete and John, it is fantastic to be here and to be here with both of you at what is the fourth AUKUS defense ministers meeting.
And we are very excited about the progress that we're making in relation to AUKUS and what we will be talking about today. It's only six weeks since the president and prime minister of Australia met where the president invoked us all to move ahead on AUKUS full steam ahead. And that really has been something of a motto for the way in which we have been going about our work.
This is the first AUKUS defense ministers meeting where we've been meeting with you, Pete. So, it's great to be doing this with you. And I just also say we had a fantastic AUSMIN, our 2+2 meeting with the US on Monday. And thank you very much for that.Â
SECRETARY OF WAR PETE HEGSETH: Thank you.
RICHARD MARLES: The last 12 months has seen a lot of progress in relation to AUKUS. In the last six weeks, we've had the USS Vermont in HMAS Stirling, south of Perth in Australia, undertaking the most extensive maintenance of an American nuclear-powered submarine outside of America ever.
And it is an example of what we are doing together, but this is a massive project and there is so much more to do. And it's really important that we are looking at the ways in which we can now get on with this and deliver it. And I think delivery is very much the focus of the conversation that we will be having today.
I'm very excited about what we can do together, the progress that we're making, but the challenges that we both need, all of us need to grab hold of as we move forward. And again, thank you to both of you for having this meeting today.
JOHN HEALEY: Thank you both for your remarks about Lance Corporal, George Hooley. I will pass those on to his family. I know they will appreciate that, your sentiments. And it's a reminder for us all the risks that our servicemen and women put themselves at in order to keep the rest of us safe. Pete, thank you in particular for welcoming us to the Pentagon, bringing us together in this way here in Washington.
But thank you also for the spirit of cooperation, which guided your department's work during their recent review of AUKUS. For the UK, AUKUS is quite simply the most important military collaboration for the last 70 years, since the US and the UK first agreed in this great city in 1958 to share nuclear technology.
And just as it was back then, this partnership will be a foundation for the shared security for generations to come. So this is a â this is a big moment. It's a big moment for AUKUS. It's a big moment for three nations together. It is, as President Trump has said, the moment of full steam ahead for AUKUS. And it's right that all three governments, as newly elected governments, have carried out a review of AUKUS.
Those reviews are now done and all three of us are now determined to reboot AUKUS with a new commitment and a new determination, in particular, to deliver. So the reviews are done. It's time to deliver. And when we talk about delivery, we talk about the most powerful, most feared attack submarine the world has ever seen, the apex predator of the seas.
And we talk about delivering the technologies of the future, putting our warfighters one step ahead of our adversaries, reinforcing our deterrence in the face of adversaries. And we talk about putting our industries at the leading edge of new export markets. Pete, you said your mission and the mission of AUKUS is peace.
And you've often argued it's peace through strength, and AUKUS embodies the way that a nation can secure strength through alliances. And in the face of this new era, we need those alliances more than ever. We need more subs in the Indo-Pacific and in the Euro-Atlantic. We need more burden-sharing by America's closest allies in Australia and the UK. And as the UK steps up on European security, we know that each of the three nations have a role to play to protect our people, to keep our citizens safe and to reinforce that global deterrence.
But we are clear as well, this isn't just about strengthening our shared security. AUKUS is also about an engine for growth that will lead to new jobs, new skills, thriving businesses in all three nations. And in the UK alone, since our government was elected last year, we've created over 3,000 new jobs in the nuclear sites.
We've committed 6 billion pounds, $8 billion investment, new investment to boost production in our shipyards and to deliver up to 12 of the most advanced attack submarines ever to sign â sail under the Royal Navy Ensign. Pete, I say to you, Richard, I say to you, the UK is all in on AUKUS. And as our three nations which share a long friendship, work together on AUKUS, we extend that friendship long into the future.
The generations ahead of us will share its strength. They will inherit security and in the jobs that we create in the technologies that we develop and in the peace that we preserve. I look forward to working with you both in the months and years ahead to deliver this most important program. Thank you.
RICHARD MARLES: Thank you.
SECRETARY OF WAR PETE HEGSETH: Thanks.
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