Albanese and Trump talk security and minerals, as AUKUS looms

The Trump administration has pressed Australia to lift defence spending from two per cent to 3.5 per cent of gross domestic product, as the Pentagon also conducts a review of the trilateral AUKUS nuclear submarine partnership.

In 2023, the United States, Australia, and Britain unveiled details of the plan to sell Australia US nuclear-powered attack submarines from the early 2030s, and later build submarines, to counter China's ambitions in the Indo-Pacific.