Anthony Albanese will roll out the red carpet for two senior United States ministers as Australia seeks to deepen diplomatic and security ties.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin have touched down in Brisbane for the annual AUSMIN talks.

Defence Minister Richard Marles and Foreign Minister Penny Wong will meet the pair on Friday before a working lunch with the prime minister.

Senator Wong said security and cooperation in the Pacific region would top the agenda, along with climate.

“Cooperation in the Pacific and our region is also critical and cooperation on climate, which… is such a pressing crisis for the world,” she told ABC TV on Friday.

“(The US) are indispensable to the balance in the region and how we make sure we get the region we want: peaceful, stable and prosperous where sovereignty is respected.”

Defence and security ties, economic issues and emerging technologies are expected to be discussed.

The AUKUS security pact, is also expected to be discussed, as US Congress debate selling some of its nuclear submarines to Australia to fill the capability gap before Australia is able to build its own vessels.

But Mr Marles said the government was confident about the process taking place in the US over the issue.

“Congress can be a complicated place as legislation makes it way through, but actually, we’re encouraged by how quickly it is going through,” he told ABC Radio.

“Fundamentally, we have reached an agreement with the Biden administration about how Australia requires the nuclear powered submarine capability, and we’re proceeding along that path with pace.”

US ambassador to Australia Caroline Kennedy said both countries had a responsibility to apply a rules-based order to the Pacific region.

“There is a change in Chinese behaviour in this region and the United States is committed to a free and open Indo-Pacific,” she told ABC Radio.

“We want to preserve the stability and the prosperity that the rules based order has provided.”

Ms Kennedy said there was no risk to the future of the AUKUS partnership following the potential delays in Congress approval.

“This legislation was always expected to take some time, I don’t think it’s right to say it’s stalled,” she said.

“There is absolutely bipartisan support in the US for AUKUS and for the Australia alliance, which is, I think, really one of our strongest.”

Secretary Blinken and Senator Wong will also address the Women’s World Cup Gender Equality Symposium.

She and Mr Marles will hold an official meeting with their US allies on Saturday.

Following the ministerial meeting on Saturday, Mr Austin and Mr Marles will travel to north Queensland to visit Australian and US troops taking part in military drills.

– AAP