Adm. John C. Aquilino, Commander, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, traveled to Australia from July 26 – 30, 2023, where he visited combined and joint servicemembers participating in Exercise Talisman Sabre.
Exercise Talisman Sabre is the United States’ largest military exercise with Australia held every two years since 2005. This is the 10th and largest iteration of the exercise with more than 30,000 personnel from 13 countries participating.
During his visit, Aquilino toured key Talisman Saber training areas and witnessed the strong U.S.-Australia alliance, which has sustained cooperation and trust throughout decades of operating, training, and exercising together.
Each stop of Aquilino’s trip highlighted the joint strength of the U.S.-Australian force posture in the Indo-Pacific region.
Aquilino also participated in the 33rd annual Australia-U.S. Ministerial Consultations (AUSMIN) alongside U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, and Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Honorable Richard Marles.
AUSMIN is the main annual forum for bilateral consultations between the U.S. and Australia. The consultations bring together the Australian Ministers for Foreign Affairs and Defence with the U.S. Secretaries of State and Defense, along with senior officials from both portfolios.
The attendees gathered at the Queensland Government House to discuss and share perspectives and approaches on major global and regional political issues, and to deepen bilateral foreign security and defense cooperation.