The defence minister Richard Marles has downplayed the Trump administration’s review into the Aukus submarines program, as has former prime minister Scott Morrison, the architect of the pact, with both saying there was still strong support for the trilateral agreement in Washington DC.
Marles said it was “natural” that the United States would examine the project, revealing the Australian government had known about the review for weeks and was “comfortable” with it. Morrison said the review was a departmental process rather than a policy decision, and should not be “over-interpreted”, but that Australia must “make the case” for the deal to survive.
The Pentagon overnight announced it had launched a review of the Aukus agreement to make sure it is aligned with Trump’s “America first” agenda, throwing the defence pact with Britain and Australia into doubt. The review may trigger more allied anxiety over the future of the trilateral alliance designed to counter China’s military rise.
A Pentagon official said the review was designed to “[ensure] the highest readiness of our service members, that allies step up fully to do their part for collective defence and that the defence industrial base is meeting our needs”.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, discussed Aukus twice in phone calls with Trump in February and May, and the two are expected to meet next week at the G7 in Canada. Marles has twice met his counterpart, Pete Hegseth, including a meeting last week where the US defence secretary urged Australia to significantly increase its military spending.
Marles told Sky News on Thursday that Australia was told about the review several weeks ago, that the government welcomed it and that it was not a surprising development. He stressed that Aukus had huge benefits for America, including boosting defence capability between the three countries and funding to increase US shipbuilding and manufacturing.
Marles travelled to the US earlier this year to meet Hegseth and make an $800m down payment on the submarine project as part of an agreement to help increase the American submarine manufacturing capabilities.
“We are committed to Aukus and we look forward to working closely with the US on the review,” Marles said in a written statement.
“It is natural that the administration would want to examine this major undertaking including progress and delivery, just as the UK government recently concluded an Aukus review and reaffirmed its support.”
Concerns were raised about Trump’s commitment to Aukus in February when, after being asked by a reporter about it, the president replied: “What does that mean?”
Elbridge Colby, the Pentagon’s under secretary of defense for policy, is leading the US review. Colby has repeatedly said he is “very sceptical” about Aukus and its benefits for the US. He has told the US Senate armed service committee that the US was not building enough submarines for its own defence and would not sell submarines to Australia if that might jeopardise American interests.
Despite the review being announced overnight, Marles said he had experienced “clear and consistent support for Aukus” from the United States.
“We look forward to continuing our close cooperation with the Trump administration on this historic project,” he said.
Morrison, in a statement shared on Thursday, said: “The focus of the review is not new and rightly centres on US submarine production rates. This is a known and genuine challenge for the US industrial base. This goes directly to the maintenance and expansion of the US submarine fleet, and it’s an area where Australia is already uniquely contributing under Aukus Pillar I.
“As the Pentagon leads this review, the depth of US-Australia engagement, the professionalism of our collaboration and the consistent backing from Secretary Hegseth, as reaffirmed in his discussions with Minister Marles, remain reasons for continued confidence.
“Now is the time for Australia to make the case again. We have a good case to make in both our own interests and those of our Aukus partners, especially in the US.”
The shadow defence minister, Angus Taylor, said Albanese must seek to safeguard the Aukus arrangement by meeting Trump as soon as possible.
“If Aukus falls over, we will all pay a heavy price. The Coalition stands ready to work with the Labor to make sure Aukus is a success,” he said on Thursday.
He questioned whether Labor’s unwillingness to meet Hegseth’s demand of a military spend of 3.5% of GDP had played a part in the American review – or the decision, announced yesterday, to level sanctions on two Israeli ministers. But he did not say if the Coalition would commit to a 3.5% threshold.
The former Liberal treasurer Joe Hockey, who enjoyed a close relationship with Donald Trump, said the president was “transactional” . Hockey was ambassador between 2016 and 2020, during Trump’s first term in office. He told Radio National it was critical that Australia “deeply engage” with the Trump administration.
“Ultimately, it is really important that the prime minister and the president, when they meet next week, have a detailed discussion about not just Aukus but the broader trade relationship as well,” Hockey said.
“And we have something to trade on: Aukus.”
Democrat congressman Joe Courtney, the co-chair of the Friends of Australia Caucus – and self-described as Congress’s “leading Aukus supporter” – said unilaterally abandoning Aukus would make the US an unreliable and untrustworthy ally.
“To walk away from all the sunk costs invested by our two closest allies – Australia and the United Kingdom – will have far-reaching ramifications on our trustworthiness on the global stage and is a direct contradiction to the administration’s ‘America First, but not alone’ goal of countering aggression from China, Russia and other adversaries.”
He said Aukus was in the US’s national interest, pointing to Australia’s US$3bn support to America’s shipbuilding industry.
