Paparo met with senior government and military leaders to include Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Richard Marles, Foreign Minister Penny Wong, Minister for Defence for Industry and Capability Delivery Pat Conroy, Secretary of the Department of Defence Greg Moriarty, Chief of Defence Force Adm. David Johnston, Chief of Joint Operations Vice Adm. Justin Jones, Chief of the Australian Navy Vice Adm. Mark Hammond, Director-General of the Australian Submarine Agency Vice Adm. Jonathan Mead, Director-General of the Australian Signals Directorate Abigail Bradshaw and U.S. Chargé d’Affaires to Australia Erika Olson.
Topics of discussion included continued modernization of Australia’s defense force, expansion of training opportunities such as Marine Rotational Force-Darwin and Talisman Sabre, and the deterrence of regional threats across the full spectrum of domains.
Paparo engaged in a think tank discussion at the National Security College, within the Australian National University, where topics included threat assessments for the Indo-Pacific region and how the U.S. and Australia use strategic posture as a means of deterrence.
He also met with students and staff at the Australian War College to provide personalized insights on professional military education and leadership. He emphasized the important role the students will have in future advancements of the U.S.-Australia bilateral relationship.
During his trip, Paparo participated in a Last Post Ceremony at the Australian War Memorial to commemorate fallen members of the Australian armed forces.
The U.S.-Australia Alliance is an anchor for peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region and around the world. Increased cooperation and military integration have further deepened the strong bilateral relationship and advance both countries’ shared interest in maintaining freedom of navigation, overflight, and other lawful uses of the sea.
USINDOPACOM is committed to enhancing stability in the Indo-Pacific region by promoting security cooperation, encouraging peaceful development, responding to contingencies, deterring aggression and, when necessary, prevailing in conflict.
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