Australia says it is “very confident” of acquiring nuclear-powered submarines under the AUKUS pact, after the Trump administration put the deal under review.
The 2021 AUKUS deal brings together Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States in a multi-decade effort to counterbalance China’s growing military might.
It aims to equip Australia with a fleet of cutting-edge, nuclear-powered submarines from the United States and provides for cooperation in developing a range of advanced warfare technologies.
US President Donald Trump’s administration has advised Australia and the United Kingdom that it is reviewing AUKUS, a spokesperson for the Australian Department of Defence confirmed Thursday.
Defence Minister Richard Marles said he was “very confident” Australia would still get the American submarines.
“I think the review that’s been announced is not a surprise,” he told public broadcaster ABC.
“We’ve been aware of this for some time. We welcome it. It’s something which is perfectly natural for an incoming administration to do.”
Australia plans to acquire at least three Virginia-class submarines from the United States within the next 15 years, with the intention of eventually manufacturing its own submarines.
The US Navy has 24 Virginia-class vessels, which can carry cruise missiles, but American shipyards are struggling to meet production targets set at two new boats each year.
Critics question why the United States would sell nuclear-powered submarines to Australia without first stocking its own military.
Marles said boosting the US production of US Virginia Class submarines was a challenge.
“That’s why we are working very closely with the United States on seeing that happen. But that is improving,” he said.
Government forecasts estimate the submarine programme alone could cost Australia up to US$235 billion over the next 30 years, a price tag that has contributed to criticism of the strategy.
Australia should conduct its own review of AUKUS, said former conservative prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, noting that Britain and now the United States had each decided to re-examine the pact.
“Australia, which has the most at stake, has no review. Our parliament to date has been the least curious and least informed. Time to wake up?” he posted on X.
Former Labor Party prime minister Paul Keating, a vehement critic of AUKUS, said the US review might “save Australia from itself”.
Australia should carve its own security strategy “rather than being dragged along on the coat tails of a fading Atlantic empire”, Keating said.
“The review makes clear that America keeps its national interests uppermost. But the concomitant question is: Why has Australia failed to do the same?”
Any US review of AUKUS carries a risk, particularly since it is a Biden-era initiative, said Euan Graham, senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.
But it is “fundamentally a good deal for the US”, he said, with Australia already investing cash to boost American submarine production as part of the agreement.
“I just do not think it is realistic for Australia, this far backed in, to have any prospect of withdrawing itself from AUKUS,” Graham told AFP.
“I don’t think there is a Plan B that would meet requirements, and I think it would shred Australia’s reputation fundamentally in a way that would not be recoverable.”
Pentagon Chief Vows To Honor Deal
Earlier, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth sought to reassure lawmakers over the US pledge to supply Australia with a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines, amid growing concern that production is not rolling out quickly enough to meet the commitment.
Under the AUKUS deal signed to great fanfare in 2021, Washington, London, and Canberra are cooperating on the joint development of cyber warfare tools, artificial intelligence, and hypersonic missiles.
The agreement commits the United States to building cutting-edge submarines for Australia, an investment with an estimated cost of up to $235 billion over a 30-year period.
Questioned by members of the US House of Representatives, Hegseth said his team was talking “every day” to US shipbuilders Electric Boat and Huntington Ingalls to ensure that “their needs not only are being met, but their shortfalls are being addressed.”
The former Fox News host, one of President Donald Trump’s most divisive cabinet appointments, acknowledged a “gap” between current supply and future demand, but added that submarine building is “crucial” to US security.
He blamed Trump’s Democratic predecessor, Joe Biden, for having “neglected” the industrial base for submarine construction.
While the stealthy Virginia class is an attack and intelligence-gathering submarine designed for a wide range of missions, the Columbia class is a ballistic missile carrier built for nuclear deterrence, which will be the largest submarine ever built by the United States.
Democrat Rosa DeLauro — whose home state of Connecticut builds Navy submarines — berated Hegseth over the Pentagon’s decision to move $3.1 billion earmarked in 2026 for Columbia-class construction to 2027 and 2028.
“Is that going to raise alarm bells across the defense industrial base by signaling a lack of commitment to the program?” she asked.
Hegseth committed to the “on-time” delivery of the vessels.
Via: Agence France-Presse
