Penny Wong heads to Washington for meetings with Quad and Marco Rubio

Foreign Minister Penny Wong will meet US counterpart Marco Rubio in Washington this week amid ongoing global instability and domestic pressure for Australia to increase its defence spending.

Senator Wong travels to the US for the Quad foreign ministers’ meeting on Tuesday, the second gathering of the group in six months.

“I look forward to engaging with my Quad counterparts as we strengthen cooperation to ensure a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” she said.

Mr Rubio wants to build on the momentum of the meeting earlier this year, a State Department official said in announcing the meeting.

“This is what American leadership looks like: strength, peace, and prosperity,” the official said.

While in Washington, Senator Wong will also meet India’s external affairs minister, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and Japanese foreign minister Takeshi Iwaya.

But all eyes will be on the meeting with the US Secretary of State.

Senator Wong said ahead of leaving the country that the United States was Australia’s “closest ally and principal strategic partner”.

“Our alliance contributes to the peace, prosperity and stability of our countries and the region we share,” she said.

“We will continue to work together to further our important economic and security partnership and advance our mutual interests.”

Mr Rubio was with President Donald Trump in the Netherlands for last week’s NATO meeting, where European countries agreed to American demands to significantly boost military defence spending.

Australia has already come under similar pressure, with US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth telling Defence Minister Richard Marles his budget should jump from its current level just above 2 per cent of GDP to 3.5 per cent.

White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said last week that if allies in Europe and NATO could find the extra money, “I think our allies and our friends in the Indo-Pacific region can do it as well”.

The Government has repeatedly pointed out its budget contains $10 billion in extra Defence spending over the next four years.

It’s on a trajectory to reach more than 2.3 per cent by 2033, but this may be sped up once the next national defence strategy is published in about April.

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said Australia had “mature, decent, respectful conversations” with the United States, but the Government would ultimately make its own decisions on behalf of Australia’s national interests.

“Our guiding principle in all of this is, what do you have to do to be able to keep Australians safe? And so we start with the capability. We don’t start with the dollars,” he said on Sunday.

“It is true, around the world now, that the world is a less stable place than it was.

“That means the conversations you’re having now about capability are different to what you would have had (a couple) of years ago.”

But shadow defence minister Angus Taylor accused the Government of ignoring the advice from its defence strategic review, published two years ago.

He wants to see more money put into hardening northern bases, speeding up the upgrade at the Henderson shipyard, counter-drone technology and recruitment.

“Forget the pressure being put on by the United States,” he said.

“If we are to play the role we need to play in ensuring we have peace through deterrence in our region, the spending is too low, and the government’s plan demonstrates that.”

Mr Iwaya and Japan’s Defence Minister cancelled bilateral talks with the US that were set to coincide with the Quad ministerial meeting after the Trump administration demanded it too spend 3.5 per cent of GDP on defence, Reuters reported last week.

Anthony Albanese is expected to travel to China in July for the annual bilateral leadership talks.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang visited Canberra and Perth at this time last year.

The Prime Minister is also seeking a meeting with Mr Trump as soon as possible.

The Quad leaders’ summit should be hosted in India this year, but a date is yet to be locked in.