Wong says defence budget not raised in Rubio meeting, AUKUS and Albanese-Trump meeting discussed
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The news: Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington on the sidelines of the Quad meetings, where they discussed the AUKUS agreement and trade issues but Rubio did not raise Australia’s defence spending, Wong said.
Wong also raised the postponed meeting between Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Donald Trump.
In an ABC News Breakfast interview, Wong said Rubio “expressed his regret for the fact that the meeting had to be rescheduled” and that officials were working on arranging a new time.
Wong was asked whether Ambassador Kevin Rudd, who had previously been critical of Trump, was a factor in the delay but said that “hadn't been raised” with her.
On the issue of defence spending, Wong said Rubio “didn't raise Australia's defence budget with me”.
What they said: Wong said she made Australia’s position on US trade tariffs “clear” and reaffirmed support for the US-Australia Free Trade Agreement. “We enable US goods to enter our country tariff-free, and we continue to advocate for that US-Australia Free Trade Agreement to also be observed by the administration,” she said.
She added that the government’s social media ban and news media bargaining code were “live issues” in “other negotiations” but “not really issues that the Secretary of State and I would be focused on”.
Rubio, speaking ahead of the Quad meeting, called for the partnership to become a “vehicle for action” and flagged critical minerals and supply chain diversification as a focus.
“There are many topics that we can work on and focus on. One that I’ve personally been very focused on is diversifying the global supply chain of critical minerals – not just access to the raw material but also access to the ability to process and refine it to useable material,” Rubio said.
The sources: ABC News, Marco Rubio statement
