AUKUS Under Review as US Weighs Alignment With ‘America First’ Doctrine
Udumbara
The future of Australia’s AUKUS defence deal with the United States is in the balance after the Pentagon announced a review into whether it fits the Trump administration’s “America First” agenda.
The AUKUS deal was formulated during the Australian Morrison government era and was sealed between Australia, the UK and the United States in 2021.
The pact was designed as a counterweight to Beijing’s ongoing aggression and military build-up in the region.
A key component of the AUKUS agreement is the design and procurement of a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines for Australia at a cost of $350 billion.
The deal also formalised existing technology arrangements between the three countries including quantum tech, drones, hypersonic weapons, and undersea capabilities.
The review will be led by Undersecretary of Defence for Policy Elbridge Colby, who has previously discussed his mixed feelings about AUKUS.
Taking to X last year, Colby said AUKUS was a “great idea” in principle, but did have doubts over its viability—according to one estimate, Australia will need to find 8,000 engineers to make the program viable.
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“It would be crazy to have fewer SSNs (nuclear submarines) in the right place and time,” said Colby.
“But if AUKUS can help us get more in the right place and time, then great. That’s an empirical and concrete question—not a philosophical one.
“Usual caveat here that I make no presumptions about any future role for myself and only speak for myself.”
It comes as U.S. Democrat Senator Jeanne Shaheen said the news of the review would be met with “cheers” from Beijing.
“Scrapping this partnership would further tarnish America’s reputation and raise more questions among our closest defense partners about our reliability,” she said.
“And at a moment when we face mounting threats from the PRC and Russia, we should be encouraging our partners to raise their defence spending and partnering with them on the latest technologies—not doing the opposite.”
The situation puts another big task on the Albanese Labor government’s burgeoning to-do list regarding U.S.-Australia ties.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is set to try meet with U.S. President Donald Trump for the first time at the sidelines of the G20 conference.
Defence Minister Backs Deal
Meanwhile, Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles said he was confident AUKUS would go ahead.“Look, I think the review that’s been announced is not a surprise, 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,” he told ABC Radio.
“I think as AUKUS goes forward over many decades and governments come and go I think that what you’ll see is incoming governments, quite reasonably, look at reviewing how they can best engage what is a multi-decade arrangement.”
New South Wales Greens Senator David Shoebridge, who has been critical of the AUKUS deal, called on the government to launch its own inquiry into the viability of the deal.
“The U.S. is reviewing whether to scrap AUKUS while Australia has just handed them an $800 million AUKUS tribute payment,” he said on X.
“We’re locked into a ... deal that our partner might walk away from. It’s time for parliament to launch a full inquiry into this dud deal.”
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