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The Conversation
The Conversation
Thomas Corben, Research Fellow, Foreign Policy and Defence, University of Sydney

Trump may push Albanese on defence spending, but Australia has leverage it can use, too

Donald Trump United States Australia Anthony Albanese AUKUS Pete Hegseth Richard Marles GDP Pentagon Washington D.C.

Ahead of a prospective meeting between Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and US President Donald Trump at the G7 Summit Canada, two key developments have bumped defence issues to the top of the alliance agenda.

First, in a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles late last month, US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth urged Australia to boost defence spending to 3.5% of gross domestic product (GDP).

This elicited a stern response from Albanese that “Australia should decide what we spend on Australia’s defence.”

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