This week in Australian foreign affairs: Strategic Partnership with the Philippines; upcoming second AUKUS Defence Ministers’ Meeting; $12 million for HIV prevention initiative; and more.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Richard Marles signed a Strategic Partnership with President of the Philippines Ferdinand R Marcos Jr on 25 November. The Partnership “establishes an enduring framework for closer cooperation.” From 25 to 27 November, armed forces of the two nations conducted the inaugural Maritime Cooperative Activity in the Exclusive Economic Zone of the Philippines, representing “the practical implementation of our Strategic Partnership.” Marles and Marcos noted that the Activity “highlights our shared commitment to exercising freedom of navigation and overflight consistent with international law, in support of a peaceful, secure and stable Indo-Pacific.” Marles stated that “Australia and the Philippines are firmly committed to a peaceful, secure and prosperous region, where sovereignty and agreed rules and norms are respected” and that “the first maritime cooperative activity between the Australian Defence Force and Armed Forces of the Philippines demonstrates this important commitment.”

Marles is travelling to the United States for the second AUKUS Defence Ministers’ Meeting in California this week. He will be joined by US Secretary of Defense, Lloyd J., Austin III, and UK Secretary of State for Defence, Grant Shapps, “to discuss enhancing capabilities, improving interoperability, and strengthening integrated deterrence through the AUKUS partnership.” Marles noted that he “look[s] forward to meeting [his] counterparts from the US and the UK … to continue the progress we are making through the AUKUS partnership and Australia’s acquisition of nuclear-powered submarines.” He also stated that “from undersea and electronic warfare, to advanced cyber, artificial intelligence and autonomy, there is significant work underway across our three nations in enhancing our shared capabilities under Pillar II of AUKUS.”

On 30 November, Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong and Minister for International Development and the Pacific Pat Conroy announced that the Government is investing “up to $12 million in a new partnership that will support local communities and governments in Southeast Asia and the Pacific to improve HIV testing and treatment, reduce stigma and discrimination, and lower transmission.” Australia will work with the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS and Health Equity Matters “to deliver this new initiative, which aims to accelerate access to new HIV prevention and treatment solutions, through community-led responses.” Conroy noted that “this new partnership will support locally led solutions to the HIV epidemic in our region – enabling affected communities to lead the response” and that “we are building genuine partnerships across our region to reduce HIV transmission and support those living with HIV.”

Wong noted on 26 November Australia’s representation by observer and Labor MP Susan Templeman at the second Meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) in New York. She stated that “the Government’s decision to again observe the Meeting of States Parties illustrates Australia’s renewed commitment to a world without nuclear weapons.” Wong also emphasised that “althoughAustralia is not a State Party to the TPNW, we share this goal with parties to the Treaty and are engaging constructively to identify realistic pathways for nuclear disarmament and to reduce the risks posed by nuclear weapons.” Moreover, Wong noted that “Australia is considering the TPNW systematically and methodically as part of our ambitious agenda to advance nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament.”

On 28 November, Conroy addressed the National Press Club. He referred to the Defence Strategic Review and “intensifying great power competition, accelerating military build-up, rising tensions and reduced warning time for conflict” in the region. Conroy’s speech focussed on Australia’s acquisition of nuclear-powered submarines and their justification, noting that “there is no technology in existence or planning that can supplant the role of the nuclear-powered submarine as a highly potent and enduring maritime capability.” He also emphasised that “this will be the greatest industrial undertaking Australia has ever attempted, both in scale and technical complexity.” Conroy further stated that “the Albanese Government is seized of the challenge and getting on with the job – working methodically and at pace to deliver this nation-building and nation-defending project.”

Isabella Keith is a weekly columnist for Australian Outlook. She is also a Research Assistant, Sessional Academic, and Honours student in Law at the Australian National University, with a focus on international law. Isabella attended the AIIA #NextGen study tour to South Korea last year, and was also a delegate to the AIIA’s Australia-Korea-New Zealand and Australia-United States-Japan Policy Forums. She can be found on Twitter here.

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