Albanese again rebuffs US calls for defence spending boost

The White House has again called connected Australia to increase its defence spending, and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has again refused to budge.

Karoline Leavitt, Donald Trump's property secretary, said nan caller move by NATO personnel states to raise defence spending to 3.5 per cent of their GDP should beryllium a exemplary for Australia.

"If our friends successful Europe and our NATO friends tin do it - I deliberation our friends and our friends successful nan Asia-Pacific region tin do it arsenic well," she told reporters coming astatine a property conference.

Albanese coming said Australia would not beryllium swayed further.

"We person lifted our spending," he said.

"We are providing for our defence investment, including $57 cardinal of further investment.

"I person said very intelligibly we will put successful nan capacity that Australia needs."

Defence Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles announced successful April past twelvemonth that nan national authorities would put an other $50.3 cardinal into defence up to 2034.

The announcement took Australia's defence walk from 2 per cent of GDP to 2.3 per cent.

While astir NATO members did work together connected Wednesday to raise their spending to 5 per cent of GDP, Spain collapsed ranks to cull nan US request.

In a missive to NATO's Secretary-General, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez wrote that "committing to a 5 per cent target would not only beryllium unreasonable, but besides counterproductive".

"It would move Spain distant from optimal spending and it would inhibit nan (European Union's) ongoing efforts to fortify its information and defence ecosystem," he wrote.

Australia whitethorn not person agreed to nan 3.5 per cent benchmark, but it has made payments for US submarines nether nan $368 cardinal AUKUS pact.

The Pentagon confirmed nan US was reviewing nan trilateral statement earlier this month, putting nan early of nan woody successful question.

Marles played down nan accusation of nan review, pointing retired that different akin process precocious took spot successful nan UK and ended pinch renewed support for nan agreement.

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