PERTH: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in Australia Tuesday for annual strategic talks, with Prime Minister Julia Gillard describing the two countries as “good mates at every level”.

On what could be her final visit Down Under in her current role, Clinton will be joined by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta for the discussions with Australian counterparts Bob Carr and Stephen Smith on Wednesday.

They are expected to focus on regional security and greater American use of Australian facilities, particularly increased access to a key navy base south of Perth as the Indian Ocean rim region grows in strategic importance.

The talks follow the arrival of US Marine units to northern Australia this year as part of an American “re-balance” towards the Pacific after a decade of ground wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The US military currently has only a limited deployment in long-standing ally Australia, including the Pine Gap Joint Defence Facility spy station near Alice Springs.

The move to station Marines here—some 2,500 by 2016-17—represents a significant geo-strategic shift by Washington and it has irked Beijing, whose rapid rise is behind the US recalibration of forces to Asia.

As well as bilateral relations, Gillard, who was to host a dinner for Clinton and Pa-netta Tuesday, said the talks would touch on the war in Afghanistan, conflict in Syria and nuclear issues involving Iran.

“These talks will also deal with discussing what President Obama and I agreed last year about military cooperation between our two countries,” she added.

The trip is expec-ted to be Clin-ton’s last official foray to Australia with Ame-rica’s top diplomat saying she plans to step down at the end of her four-year term in January despite Obama’s re-election.

After Australia, the well-travelled Clinton heads to Singapore on Friday before joining up with Obama in Thailand on his first foreign trip since he won a second term.