US says Pentagon review sees opportunities to strengthen AUKUS submarine deal
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
An Australian Navy Collins-class diesel-electric submarine in Sydney Harbour on Nov 2, 2016. The AUKUS defence deal between Australia, Britain and the US will allow Australia to acquire US nuclear-powered submarines.
PHOTO: AFP
Follow topic:
- The Pentagon completed its AUKUS review, aiming to strengthen the nuclear submarine partnership between the US, UK, and Australia.
- Despite initial concerns, President Trump supports AUKUS, signalling it should move "full steam ahead," according to Sean Parnell.
- Australia is reviewing the US findings and is committed to spending A$368 billion over three decades on the AUKUS programme.
AI generated
WASHINGTON – The Pentagon has completed its review of the AUKUS project to provide Australia with nuclear-powered submarines and found areas to put the deal on the “strongest possible footing”, a US official said on Dec 4.
President Donald Trump’s administration said in June it had launched a formal review into the AUKUS defence deal
Washington is also expected to later host a trilateral ministerial meeting involving Britain.
“Consistent with President Trump’s guidance that AUKUS should move ‘full steam ahead’, the review identified opportunities to put AUKUS on the strongest possible footing,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said.
Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles said earlier on Dec 4 that Australia had received the United States’ review of the AUKUS nuclear submarine partnership and is “working through it”.
A British official said Britain had also received the review and welcomed its completion.
The review had sparked alarm in Canberra about what will be Australia’s biggest-ever defence commitment, but concerns were eased when Mr Trump signalled his support for the programme
The review was led by Under Secretary of Defence Elbridge Colby, who said in 2024 that submarines were a scarce, critical commodity, and that US industry could not produce enough to meet American demand.
Australia has committed to spend A$368 billion (S$315.4 billion) over three decades on the programme, which includes billions of dollars of investment in a US submarine production base.
A US official said the meeting of Australian defence and foreign ministers with the US secretaries of defence and state was expected to take place on Dec 8, while a subsequent meeting of the two countries’ top defence officials along with British Defence Secretary John Healey was expected to happen in Washington on Dec 10.
Britain and Australia have yet to confirm those meetings. REUTERS
