Australia-United States Ministerial Consultations

Key Outcomes from AUSMIN 2004

The signature of the Australia-US MOU on Missile Defence is a significant long-term commitment to Australia's future security.
Missile Defence is a long-term measure to counter potential threats to Australia's security and interests from ballistic missile proliferation. It is a purely defensive system.
Work has already begun with the US on exploring the application of Australia's leading over-the-horizon radar technology to Missile Defence. Other potential areas for future participation in the program include cooperation in ballistic missile early warning, through ship and ground-based sensors.

The agreement to develop a Joint Combined Training Centre will significantly enhance the quality of our bilateral training program and Australian Defence Force capabilities.
Australia and the US have a long history of mutually beneficial bilateral defence cooperation, which has for many years included joint training exercises in Australia and the United States.
The Centre is a long-term commitment that will provide Australia with the world's best joint training facilities and high technology equipment
The Centre will also help in the development of a range of capabilities which could possibly include combat, peacekeeping and humanitarian operations, therefore allowing both Australia and the US to respond more effectively to contemporary security challenges.
Training facilities at the Shoalwater Bay Training Area in Queensland and the Bradshaw Training Area and Delamere Air Weapons Range in the Northern Territory will be further developed and linked with US facilities. The specific details of these upgrades are yet to be determined.
The centre will not be a US base, and the United States has not proposed establishing a permanent base in Australia.

The signature of the Australia-US Joint Statement of Principles on Interoperability provides a strong practical foundation to further developing Australia-US military cooperation.
The Statement of Principles provides an overarching and long-term statement that will guide decision making on the interoperability of Australia and US defence forces. This will enable us to work more closely and effectively in support of shared regional and global security interests.
Australia and the US have already agreed to enhance interoperability between our defence forces in areas such as communications and information exchange, operational planning and training.