Secretary Rubio, the U.S. secretary of state, opened the 40th AUSMIN ministerial meeting by welcoming Australian counterparts and calling the bilateral relationship "an incredibly strong alliance." He urged continued work on shared priorities and said the visit cycle and upcoming reciprocal visits show "real momentum" in the partnership.

The meeting featured three central strands: deeper AUKUS defense cooperation, defense-industrial collaboration and force-posture steps in Australia; a newly framed critical-minerals partnership; and commitments tied to expanded submarine production capacity. "AUKUS is full steam ahead," Secretary Rubio said, and participants discussed practical measures to strengthen deterrence and sustain logistics in the Indo-Pacific.

Officials described specific force-posture steps intended to increase rotational U.S. activity in Australia. One U.S. official (speaker 3) said the agenda includes upgrades to air bases in Queensland and the Northern Territory to allow additional U.S. bomber rotations, logistics and infrastructure work in Darwin to better support rotational deployments and prepositioning of MV-22 Ospreys, and new resilient logistics networks across Australia. "We're upgrading infrastructure on air bases in Queensland and the Northern Territory that allows for additional U.S. bomber rotations," the official said.

Delegation remarks also outlined defense-industrial cooperation: two-year road maps for Australia's guided-weapons enterprise, work toward co-production and co-sustainment of hypersonic and air-to-air missile systems, and cooperative programs including torpedoes and other munitions. A U.S. official noted plans "toward co production and co sustainment of hypersonic attack cruise missiles."

Both sides highlighted a recently signed critical-minerals framework. Secretary Rubio framed diversified, reliable critical-mineral supply chains as essential to defense and economic resilience: "we have to have critical mineral supplies and supply chains that are reliable and diverse and not overly invested in 1 place," he said.

On submarines and industrial capacity under AUKUS, one U.S. official said the meeting "applaud[s] Australia's upcoming delivery of an additional 1,000,000,000 to help expand U.S. submarine production capacity." Australian remarks reiterated the broader goal of increasing the U.S. footprint in Australia and preparing a submarine rotational force in the west by 2027. An Australian official (speaker 4) also said that recent visits by U.S. nuclear-powered submarines — including the USS Vermont at HMAS Stirling — reflect deeper operational ties and that "almost 900 Australian servicemen and women" are embedded in U.S. defense forces.

What happens next: officials framed these commitments as part of an ongoing, operational set of consultations and follow-up events. There were no recorded motions or votes in the public remarks; participants emphasized implementation work and further consultations between capitals.

Reporting note: Quotations and paraphrases are drawn directly from the meeting transcript. The public remarks reviewed here do not include formal decisions recorded as motions or votes.