US (bbabo.net), - Australia and the US intend to strengthen military cooperation to counter the growing military power of China. US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles agreed on this during a bilateral meeting held on Monday in Washington, TASS reported on December 6, citing Pentagon spokesman Patrick Ryder.

According to the agency, the parties confirmed their intention to increase bilateral military-technical cooperation in order to contain China, whose steps, in their opinion, will destabilize the situation.

According to the information, Austin and Marles "reaffirmed their commitment to deepening bilateral cooperation in the field of defense, including operations, alignment of forces and interaction in the field of defense technologies."

"They exchanged views on the regional security environment, noting in particular their shared determination to counter PRC's destabilizing military activity," the statement said.

The ministers reportedly "agreed to continue working with partners in the region in support of a shared vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific."

Also on Monday, US Armed Forces (AF) Chief of Staff (JSC) Chairman Mark Milley and Australian Armed Forces Commander General Angus Campbell met at the Pentagon. The Pentagon press service reports that the parties "discussed a number of issues, including regional security and operations." Milley and Campbell agreed to "continue to increase multilateral cooperation and improve interoperability" of the two countries' forces.

Meanwhile, the press service of the US State Department reports that consultations will be held in Washington on Tuesday with the participation of Austin, Marles, as well as the heads of the American and Australian foreign affairs agencies Anthony Blinken and Penny Wong.

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