United States of America
Australia-US alliance
Australia has a formal alliance with the United States known as the ANZUS Treaty, which was concluded in 1951. The Treaty contains a commitment that both Australia and the United States will act to meet common dangers. It was invoked by Australia for the first time in response to the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001.
The alliance is the foundation of defence and security cooperation between Australia and the United States. This increases Australia's ability to protect itself and its interests by providing access to world-leading defence hardware and technologies, access to training courses and combined excercises, and to vital intelligence capabilities. Such cooperation supports joint efforts against terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. For more information about the defence relationship, see the Department of Defence's website.
The Australia-US Ministerial Consultations (AUSMIN) are held between foreign and defence ministers. Formal consultations among senior officials include policy planning talks, political-military discussions and military-military talks.
Australia, the United States and Japan have established a Trilateral Security Dialogue.