US, Australia hold high-level talks on China’s major naval buildup in East Asia

U.S. Secretary of State Marco A. Rubio and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth held joint talks in Washington with Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles and Foreign Minister Penny Wong just days after reports that China has deployed more than 100 naval and coast guard vessels across key East Asian waters. This high-level meeting at the State Department on 8 December 2025 focused on the security fallout from Beijing’s unprecedented maritime show of force, including its pressure around Taiwan and contested seas, and on how to further tighten US‑Australia defence coordination in the Indo‑Pacific.​ Watch for more