Marise Payne (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

I can, because the annual Australia-United States ministerial meeting directly followed upon the UK meeting I just referred to. It was held in Palo Alto. On the occasion of that AUSMIN, the Secretary of Defense, Secretary Mattis, and I signed a memorandum of understanding to deepen our cybersecurity cooperation so that we're able to jointly develop both the tools and the software that we need to both protect and defend against cyberthreats. This is a great example of how we continue to evolve the Australia-US relationship so that we're best placed to respond to those new and emerging threats.

Both Australia and the US are strongly committed to working with our allies and partners throughout the Indo-Pacific to ensure that this is a region that remains open, inclusive, stable and secure. During those AUSMIN meetings, which were held for the first time on the west coast of the United States, we agreed that we will further our cooperation to promote the security, the stability and the resilience of our Pacific island neighbours as well—very important engagements for both countries.