Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have met their Australian counterparts for annual talks focused on Indo-Pacific security and countering China's increasing assertiveness in the region. Rubio, Hegseth, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Defense Minister Richard Marles gathered Monday at the State Department. None of them mentioned China by name in their brief comments to reporters before the formal meeting began, but the challenges posed by Beijing have been a central theme of the U.S.-Australia relationship in recent years. They discussed progress in the AUKUS pact, a Biden administration-era agreement under which the U.S., Britain and Australia committed to building nuclear submarines for the Australians.

President Donald Trump and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese have signed a critical-minerals deal at the White House. The United States is eyeing Australia's rare-earth resources as China imposes stricter export rules on its critical minerals. Monday's White House meeting comes after Beijing announced this month that foreign companies must get approval to export magnets with rare-earth materials from China. Trump administration officials say this gives China control over the tech supply chain. The two leaders also discussed a security pact among Australia, the U.S. and the United Kingdom that was signed during Joe Biden's administration. Trump noted that AUKUS was established "a while ago" but that the agreement now is "moving along very rapidly, very well."