Australia Signs Security Accord with Britain  

Secretary of State for Defense of the United Kingdom Grant Shapps (L) and Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles exchange Defense Treaty documents during a meeting at Parliament House in Canberra, March 21, 2024. (AAP Image/Lukas Coch via Reuters)

Australia and the United Kingdom signed a new defense and security cooperation agreement Thursday that deepens the strategic relationship between the two nations, makes it easier for their defense forces to operate together in each other's countries, and boosts a fledgling nuclear-powered submarine program with the United States.