After review, USA going all the way on AUKUS pact
Grace Crivellaro |
The United States has recommitted to the AUKUS nuclear submarine pact after a secret internal review, and will even strengthen the pact after Australian ministers held talks with Trump officials.
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Defence Minister Richard Marles met their US counterparts Marco Rubio and Pete Hegseth in Washington DC overnight for an annual meeting focusing on Indo-Pacific security.
In remarks made before the AUSMIN talks, both nations reiterated the $368 billion AUKUS pact was moving “full steam ahead” – a comment also made by US President Donald Trump after he met with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in October.
“We’re strengthening AUKUS so that it works for America, for Australia, and for the UK,” Mr Hegseth said.
“There’s a lot we’re going to do together in the months ahead.”
Details about the Pentagon’s recently completed five-month review into AUKUS have not been revealed, with Mr Marles refusing to explain the contents in a press conference.
“The review is essentially looking at ways in which AUKUS can be done better,” he told reporters on Tuesday.
“I don’t think it’s appropriate that I go into more than that.”
He indicated the review was a positive step forward for both countries.
“We’re very grateful for having received it as we are in fact, for the visibility which they provided to us all throughout the review,” Mr Marles said.
The Pentagon has said it does not intend to make the review public.
Mr Rubio described the US as having “no better friend” than Australia following a year of “momentum” behind the alliance after the successful meeting between Mr Trump and Mr Albanese when they struck a critical minerals deal in October.
“We have to have critical mineral supplies and supply chains that are reliable, and that are diverse, and not overly invested in one place where they can be used as leverage against us or our partners of the world,” Mr Rubio said.
Doubt was cast over whether the US would endorse AUKUS while the Pentagon was conducting its review, but the partnership has been positively endorsed.
One element of that is the AUKUS pact, a Biden-era agreement under which the US, Britain and Australia committed to building an Australian fleet of submarines powered by US nuclear technology.
“The alliance has always been to ensure it delivers concrete benefits for our security and prosperity and for that of the United States,” Senator Wong said.
“AUKUS is central to that: a win for Australia, a win for the US and a win for the United Kingdom.
“We are full steam ahead.”
Mr Hegseth echoed her comments, saying “we applaud Australia’s upcoming delivery of an additional $US1 billion ($A1.5 billion) to help expand US submarine production capacity”.
Mr Marles agreed and reaffirmed the centrality of the alliance with the US to Australia’s security.
“We are living in a much more contested world, where it really matters to be doubling down with friends and allies and, obviously, America is front and centre and foremost for Australia in that respect,” he said.
AAP
