Pentagon walks back claim Richard Marles didn’t meet with Pete Hegseth

The Pentagon has walked back suggestions the Australian defence minister, Richard Marles, did not meet his US counterpart, Pete Hegseth, adding to confusion about his visit to the White House this week. American officials initially denied Marles had a formal meeting with Hegseth during a last-minute trip to Washington, casting doubt on the federal government’s account of the visit. But as Albanese government ministers faced questions on Thursday morning, the Pentagon’s chief spokesman, Sean Parnell, told Guardian Australia the pair did meet. “Secretary Hegseth welcomed the opportunity to meet in person with deputy prime minister Marles for the third time this year,” Parnell said. _{Sign up: AU Breaking News email} “Their meeting at the White House on Tuesday was coordinated in advance.” On Sunday, Marles announced he would visit Washington and “meet with Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, and other senior Administration officials”. The trip appeared hastily planned and meant Marles would miss the start of the parliamentary sitting period in Canberra. On Wednesday, he said he was pleased to have met senior officials including the vice-president, JD Vance, and the secretary of state, Marco Rubio. But in a carefully worded statement, Marles said: “It was fantastic to see Secretary Hegseth again.” Marles shared photos with Hegseth, Vance and Rubio on social media, saying he had taken the opportunity to “reaffirm Australia’s commitment” to the US alliance, and name-checked Hegseth. A planned press conference did not go ahead before he left Washington to return to Canberra. But on Thursday, the Pentagon described the meeting where the photos were taken as “a happenstance encounter”. “We can confirm there was not a meeting,” a US defence official said in a statement released to Nine News on Thursday morning. The Australian side said Marles and Hegseth held talks described as a one-on-one opportunity, which were said to have covered the relationship between Australia and the US, including the Aukus nuclear submarines agreement. The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, talked down any difference in statements between Washington and Canberra. “The deputy prime minister of Australia met with the vice-president of the United States and Secretary Rubio has a number of roles. Crucial roles,” he said. “I haven’t had a debrief from Richard on the discussions he had with the defense secretary as well, but by any objective measure going to the US and meeting with people of that seniority in the administration, when we have so many issues at play … I find it quite strange quite frankly to see some of this kickback about the trip.” The pair have previously met in the US and on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore in May, when Hegseth said Australia should dramatically increase defence spending to boost regional security and counter China’s efforts to grow influence across the Indo-Pacific region.

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The Pentagon’s review of Aukus has prompted anxiety within the federal government and the defence community. The review, which is being run by a sceptic of the deal, the undersecretary of defense Elbridge Colby, is expected to be completed before the end of the year. Australia has already sent $1.6bn to the US under the deal.

The shadow finance minister, James Paterson, said Marles was right to meet senior officials, including the White House deputy chief of staff, Stephen Miller. “This had some kind of pull aside with secretary Pete Hegseth. That’s the kind of relationship we aspire to have with the United States, very senior access in Washington DC. “What I’m far more concerned about is that we’re now 290-odd days on for President Trump being elected, and the prime minister still hasn’t had that meeting with him. “I think it’s a serious matter of our most important bilateral security relationship.”

Albanese and Trump could cross paths at a series of diplomatic engagements scheduled to take place before Christmas, including Quad leaders’ talks and summits for the G20 and Apec.