This week in Australian foreign affairs: Marles and Wong in Annapolis for AUSMIN 2024 talks; Marles travels to Canada for Defence talks with counterpart; Wong travels to Fiji for Pacific Islands Forum Foreign Ministers Meeting; Australia joins US-led Landsat Next Satellite program, and more.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Richard Marles on 6 August joined Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong and their US counterparts Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III and Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Annapolis, Maryland, for Australia-U.S. Ministerial Consultations (AUSMIN) 2024. According to the joint statement, the principles welcomed actions to build an “Innovation alliance.” Among the topics discussed were the Framework to Counter Foreign State Information Manipulation, establishment of the Australia-U.S. Landsat Next Partnership between Geoscience Australia and the U.S. Geological Survey, enhancing cooperation on satellite imaging data collection and analysis capability; an inaugural Ministerial First Nations Dialogue; Co-hosting of the Pacific Banking Forum’ Commitment to conclude a space framework agreement to facilitate cooperation on civil space activities, including further cooperation on the U.S. National Air and Space Agency’s (NASA) Artemis program; A new four-year phase of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) – Australia Mekong Safeguards Program; and “Continued progress by the Australia-U.S. Critical Minerals Taskforce (CMTF) to pursue secure and diverse critical mineral supply chains, increase investment in mining and processing projects in our respective countries, and enhance market transparency.”

Marles Travelled to Canada 7-8 August to meet with his counterpart Minister of National Defence Bill Blair. In a joint statement on strengthening the Canada-Australia defence relationship, the two sides committed to enhancing armed forces interoperability, while facilitating value-added defence and industrial activities and to support operational cooperation. Additional discussion points included reinforcing “collaboration in space, cyber, research and development, advanced capabilities, and science and technology.” The statement also “welcomes Canada’s increased defence presence throughout the Indo-Pacific region, as outlined in Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy. Since the release of this strategy, Canada has increased its annual naval deployments and defence engagement throughout the region, creating additional opportunities for joint training in all domains.” Both sides also underscored their concerns with China’s “expansive maritime claims in the South China Sea that are inconsistent with international law,” emphasizing further “the importance of all states’ abilities to exercise rights and freedoms, including freedom of navigation and overflight.”

On 6 August, Wong joined Minister for Home Affairs Tony Burke to announce Australia’s joining of the United States Global Entry program. “Eligible Australians who sign up to the Global Entry program will benefit from streamlined and expediated immigration and customs clearance channels on arrival into the United States. The program will initially be available from January 2025 to a limited number of Australians that travel most frequently to the US, with work underway to open up the program to all eligible Australians who wish to apply later in 2025.”

Australia has joined US-led Landsat Next Satellite program, Wong announced in a joint media release with Minister for Resources Madelaine King on 6 August. Wong joined Secretary Blinken at the AUSMIN conference in Annapolis to sign a bilateral statement formally joining. The announcement calls the event a “milestone for Australia’s involvement in the pioneering project, which will map the earth’s surface and support mining exploration, environmental monitoring, agriculture and disaster management. The Landsat Next program, to be launched in 2031, will continue nearly 50 years of Earth observation collaboration between Geoscience Australia and the United States Geological Survey.” According to the statement, “Australia will commit $207.4 million over the next four years for Geoscience Australia to develop advanced data processing and analytics capabilities. The funding will also provide essential support to the Landsat Next mission through upgraded ground station capabilities in Alice Springs.”

On 8 August, Wong travelled to Fiji to participate in the Pacific Islands Forum Foreign Ministers Meeting. At the forum, Wong discussed Australia’s bid to host the COP31 Climate Change Conference in partnership with Pacific island countries, and the implementation of the “2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent, to foster a more interconnected and resilient Pacific.” This is Wong’s fifth visit to Fiji as foreign minister, the announcement reads, “demonstrating the importance the Australian Government places on our deep and enduring relationship with Fiji and the broader Pacific family.” Australia’s Ambassador for First Nations People, Justin Mohamed, also accompanied Wong to the meeting. A first for Mohamed, which was projected as “elevating First Nations’ perspectives in our engagement and deepening connections with the PIF family.”

Dr Adam Bartley is the managing editor for AIIA’s Australian Outlook and weekly columnist for The Week in Australian Foreign Affairs. He is a former Fulbright Scholar and resident fellow at the Elliot School for International Affairs, the George Washington University. Adam also has positions as post-doctoral fellow at the Centre for Cyber Security Research and Innovation RMIT University  and as program manager of the AI Trilateral Experts Group. He can be found on Twitter here.

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