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Australia and the United States have built a strong relationship which is almost a century old. Australians have fought alongside Americans in every major US military action over the last century, including World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, the Persian Gulf, Somalia, East Timor and Afghanistan.
In 1951, the alliance was formalised through the ANZUS Treaty. More than 50 years later, the Treaty remains the foundation of our security relationship with the United States. The mutual defence clause was invoked for the first time in September 2001 following terrorist attacks in New York and Washington DC.
Today, Australia is actively contributing to the coalition against terrorism. This contribution has included Special Forces troops, air-to-air refuelling aircraft, F/A-18 fighter aircraft, Navy frigates and an amphibious support ship.
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