Anthony Albanese says he would likely have signed up to Aukus if he had been PM at the time

Anthony Albanese says it is likely he would have pursued the Aukus agreement had Labor been in power during the Morrison era because the bonds between the three nations are enduring, and defence officials would have supplied the same advice.

The prime minister said he intended to visit the Biden administration in the US this year before attending the Apec summit in San Fransisco, and Joe Biden would also visit Australia as part of the Quad leaders meeting.

Aukus will be one of the main items on the agenda when the foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, and the defence minister, Richard Marles, meet their British counterparts in Portsmouth on Thursday.

Marles will then fly on to the US for a meeting with the defense secretary, Lloyd Austin, as part of preparations for the three countries to announce next month how Australia plans to acquire at least eight nuclear-powered submarines.

Additional reporting by Daniel Hurst. The full interview on the Australian Politics podcast will be available on Saturday