<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has today not ruled out Australia lifting its defence budget by billions of dollars as the Trump administration nudges allies to increase their military budgets.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He was speaking on </span><em><span>Today</span></em><span> this morning amid the fallout of Defence Minister Richard Marles' visit to Washington DC, and confusion about whether he had sit-down talks with his US counterpart.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Albanese said his government had already committed to raising spending on the Australian Defence Force by $10 billion over the short term, and could not rule out spending more.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/porepunkah-victoria-police-officer-shooting-people-escorted-from-home/58cb7c8b-9cc2-412b-baf9-94a6619eebe4" target="_blank"><strong><span>Teenage boy, woman arrested by police in Porepunkah investigation</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>When quizzed about the federal government's defence budget, he insisted "what we're going to do is do what we like, which is to provide us with whatever assets we need and our capability".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Albanese pointed to last month's announcement of a $10 billion order with a Japanese company for new warships to equip the Royal Australian Navy.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But he also left the door open to more spending for the armed forces.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/prime-minister-hints-australia-could-lift-defence-budget/c38dc092-1a4f-403c-b286-06eb980a1fe2" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We'll continue to provide whatever investment is required to make sure that we lift our capability and we lift our relationships as well," Albanese said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The federal government has projected defence spending to rise from 2.02 per cent of GDP to 2.33 per cent by 2033 to 2034.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/minneapolis-us-police-examine-online-videos-writings-possibly-linked-to-church-shooting-suspect/53e05335-cdf5-44dc-9d5a-926efa53ab2c" target="_blank"><strong><span>The twisted messages posted by church mass shooter</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But US officials, such as Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, want Australia to go further and set a target of 3.5 per cent GDP, equivalent to about $97 billion annually.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Such a move would mean the Treasury having to find an extra $40 billion, putting a severe strain on other government spending programmes.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The Trump administration insists its allies in the Indo Pacific and Europe must step up to meet emerging security challenges, and ease the burden on the US military.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In June, US President Donald Trump persuaded members of the NATO alliance to invest 5 per cent of their GDP on defence.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The US says China's ambitions on Taiwan pose a threat to global peace and stability requires its regional allies, including Australia, to play their part on defence.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span></span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/how-to-follow-9news-digital/29855bb1-ad3d-4c38-bc25-3cb52af1216f" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP</span></em></strong></a><strong><em><span>:</span></em></strong><span> </span><em><strong><span>Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. 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