Richard Marles swats away need for meeting with Pentagon policy chief, claims US-Australia relationship ‘strongest it's ever been'
As Prime Minister Anthony Albanese tours China spruiking increased trade and collaboration on decarbonisation efforts, strategic analysts have argued the US-Australia alliance is in a critical condition, which the government vehemently denies.
There is intensifying rancour in Washington over Australia's stagnant defence budget, with US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth publicly demanding that Australia increase its spending to 3.5 per cent of gross domestic product 'as soon as possible'.
Under Secretary of defence policy Eldridge Colby, who is currently leading the Trump administrations review into the AUKUS submarine agreement, also hit the alliance with another curveball after demanding for Australia to pre-commit US-supplied submarines in the event of a potential conflict between China and Taiwan.
Mr Colby, who last year labelled himself an AUKUS 'agnostic', has recently met with a range of Asia-Pacific leaders including South Korea, the Philippines and Papua New Guinea with the Defence Minister questioned when he had last spoken to the top US strategist.
In response to Sky News host Peter Stefanovic, Mr Marles dismissed why he would hold discussions with the Pentagon policy chief when he had been 'talking with Elbridge Colby's boss', that being Mr Hegseth.
'The answer to that question would be I've met with Pete Hegseth on a couple of occasions and spoken extensively with him about our relationship, including AUKUS,' Mr Marles said.
Although Mr Colby is pioneering the US' review into the AUKUS pact, which has now passed its slated 30-day deadline, Mr Marles insisted that: 'I engage with my counterpart, and my counterpart is the Secretary of Defence.'
Despite a raft of geostrategic experts sounding the alarm about the dire state of relations between the US and Australia, Mr Marles proceeded to boast that Australia's relationship with the 'United States the strongest it's ever been'.
'I was the first international counterpart that Pete Hegseth the Secretary of Defence met with, the first in the world and I met with him again in Singapore at the Shangri La dialogue,' Mr Marles said.
When asked if Mr Colby was deliberately agitating the relationship, the Defence Minister resoundingly rejected the assertion and said there had been 'a lot speculated, but the fundamentals here are that we're talking about three countries who have worked very closely together'.
Meanwhile, foreign editor at The Australian, Greg Sheridan, lashed the Prime Minister for opting to travel to China for six days at a time when Australia's relationship with the US is in a precarious position.
'I think what on earth was going through the Prime Minister's mind to agree to a six-day trip to China while Operation Talisman Sabre was being conducted in Australia when the Australia-US alliance is under more strain and under more neglect from both sides,' Mr Sheridan said.
The foreign affairs expert also stated that Mr Colby had been 'marginally misinterpreted' on his submarine pre-commitment request, and that he was 'probably asking more for joint planning than a commitment to go to war'.
'All the other questions that Elbridge Colby is asking about AUKUS are valid questions and they're critical of his own nation, he's saying even the Americans are not building enough nuclear submarines," he said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News.com.au
28 minutes ago
- News.com.au
‘Worrying': Naval chief warns US must double submarine construction to meet AUKUS commitments
The United States will need to double its construction rate of attack submarines in order to meet its AUKUS commitments to Australia and the UK, Donald Trump's nominee to lead the US Navy has warned. Admiral Daryl Caudle, speaking before his Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing on Thursday to become Chief of Naval Operations, said at the current rate of construction he was not sure the US could supply three Virginia-class nuclear submarines to Australia as required under Pillar 1 of the AUKUS agreement. The AUKUS deal, signed in 2021, is currently under review by the US Department of Defense. Adm. Caudle said the Pentagon-wide review was about US industrial capacity, and not the capability of Australian submariners. 'The question of Australia's ability to conduct undersea warfare is not in question by me or by anyone,' Adm. Caudle told Senators, per USNI News. 'But as you know, the delivery pace is not where it needs to be to make good on the Pillar 1 of the AUKUS agreement, which is currently under review by our Defense Department.' The AUKUS deal would see the US share its nuclear propulsion technology for only the second time in history, selling up to five Virginia-class boats to Australia while helping Canberra develop domestic capability to build and maintain its own nuclear-powered attack submarines. To meet its obligations, Navy officials have said US industrial base must build 2.33 Virginia-class attack boats per year. It currently builds about 1.3 per year. 'We do have to understand whether or not the industrial base can produce the submarines required so that we can make good on the actual pact that we made with the UK and Australia, which is around 2.2, 2.3 Virginia-class submarines per year,' Adm. Caudle told Democratic Senator Tim Kaine. 'That's going to require a transformational improvement — not a 10 per cent improvement, not a 20 per cent, a 100 per cent improvement. We need a transformational improvement and the ability to deliver twice the capacity that we're currently delivering.' Adm. Caudle said the US would likely need to work with international allies and partners to build and maintain its fleet while it built up its domestic industrial capacity. 'I don't know how we do what we need to do without bringing international partners into the capacity problem that we have while we build up our capacity because we need ships today,' he told Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville. 'And so there are no magic beans to that. There's nothing that's just going to make that happen. So the solution space has got to open up, and I think part of that has to look at international partnerships to give us a little bit of a relief valve while we work on our own organic industrial capacity.' Committee chairman Roger Wicker, a Republican, stressed the need to fulfil the US's AUKUS commitments. 'There needs to be some creativity, some ingenuity, some outsourcing improvements,' Adm. Caudle agreed. 'We need an all-hands-on-deck approach to this to get to the 2.3 submarines per year.' Adm. Caudle told the committee in his written testimony that 'current trends are worrying, and should I be confirmed, this issue will have my utmost attention and priority to ensure a productive outcome'. 'If confirmed, I will support the Department of Defense's review of the AUKUS Security Pact with my best military advice,' he said. Adm. Caudle warned in his opening statement that 'years of shrinking fleet size and diminished shipbuilding capacity and on time repair delivery execution have manifested themselves as persistent challenges, previously masked by unquestioned naval supremacy throughout the last three decades'. 'As China continues to grow its naval strength and the potential for peer naval conflict grows at a steady pace each passing day, the veil is slowly lifting on the impacts of poor choices made decades ago, which leveraged a perceived myopic peace dividend, that now pressurises and oversubscribes our decision space for choices we face today,' he said. To achieve this, Adm. Caudle said he would 'relentlessly pursue full-spectrum readiness — modernising our fleet's capabilities, scaling readiness capacity, and aggressively forging our resilient and resourceful sailors who bring all our combat power to life'. The AUKUS review, led by Undersecretary of Defense Policy Elbridge Colby — who had expressed scepticism of the deal while out of government — was announced on June 11, sparking concerns about the future of the pact. Mr Colby recently made headlines when it was revealed he was pressuring the Australian and Japanese governments to reveal what they would do if China invaded Taiwan. Last week, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed Australia had sent another $800 million to the US as part of the AUKUS 'schedule' despite the review. The new payment took the total to $1.6 billion. 'There is a schedule of payments to be made, we have an agreement with the United States as well as with the United Kingdom,' Mr Albanese told ABC's Afternoon Briefing. 'It is about increasing the capacity, their industrial capacity, and as part of that, we have Australians on the ground, learning the skills so that when it comes to the SSN-AUKUS, the submarines being built here in Australia, we have those skills.' Defence Minister Richard Marles earlier confirmed the report saying 'the payments are occurring in line with Australia's commitment to contribute $US2 billion by the end of 2025, which underscores our commitment to the successful delivery of AUKUS Pillar 1 outcomes'. The new payment came as Opposition defence spokesman Angus Taylor said he was 'worried' about the government's position on defence. 'I worry that the government — I think it's not just me worried, I think every expert looking at this is making these comments — they're deeply worried that we're not on our way to having the defence force we need in such an uncertain time,' Mr Taylor said. 'We've got authoritarian regimes around the world flexing their muscles.' The AUKUS deal is a long-term arrangement that will cost upwards of $268 billion, and as much as $368 billion, over the next 30 years. The review comes as the Trump administration expresses growing concerns about Australia's defence spending. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has made it clear the US expects Canberra to lift its defence budget to 3.5 per cent of GDP, up from roughly 2 per cent currently, or around $56 billion in 2024-25. Mr Marles said in May that he had told his counterpart 'this is a conversation that we are very willing to have'.
The Australian
an hour ago
- The Australian
ASX cautious ahead of inflation data to be released on Wednesday
Cautious traders lifted the ASX from an early fall on Tuesday but are still waiting for Wednesday's key CPI figure and US tariff fallout. The benchmark ASX200 eked out a small 6.9 or 0.08 per cent gain to 8,704.6 after falling by as much as 0.6 per cent on the open. The broader All Ordinaries also finished in the green up 3.20 points or 0.04 per cent to 8,966.70. Australia's dollar firmed marginally up 0.06 per cent to buy 65.25 US cents. Markets pared back early losses during Tuesday's trading. Picture NewsWire/ Gaye Gerard. On an overall quiet day of trading, seven of the 11 sectors finished in the green, led by energy, industrials and healthcare stocks. Woodside Energy gained 1.57 per cent to $26.60 and Santos jumped 2.06 per cent to $7.91 on the back of rising oil prices. Healthcare giant CSL gained 0.52 per cent to $272, Pro Medicus gained 0.86 per cent to $323.21 and Fisher Paykel Healthcare jumped 1.44 per cent to $33.78. It was a mixed day for the market heavyweight big four banks. Commonwealth Bank shares slipped 0.35 per cent to $174.29 while Westpac fell 0.06 per cent to $33.19. Offsetting the falls were gains from National Australia Bank which closed 1.17 per cent higher to $38.20 and ANZ which eked out a 0.03 per cent gain to $30.32. The initial excitement in the markets on the back of a US-EU trade deal over the weekend quickly died down as the White House announced a possible bounce in the tariff rate. Under the new plan the 'Rest of World', including Australia, could now face tariffs of 15 to 20 per cent, up from the 10 per cent initial base rate. senior financial market analyst Kyle Rodda said market excitement on the back of trade talks between the US and the EU was short lived. 'Wall Street failed to hold onto the post US-EU trade deal buzz but that's only because of the mountain of event risk that the markets confront in the coming days,' he said. 'The August 1 trade deadline loomed as potentially the biggest story of the week'. Seven of the 11 sectors finished higher on a quiet day of trading. Picture: NewsWire / Max Mason-Hubers But Mr Rodda pointed out that with deals worked out between the US and the EU, Japan and potentially China means markets attention will shift to macroeconomic figures and corporate earnings. Australia's key macroeconomic data comes out on Wednesday with the release of the quarterly CPI figures. Economists say a quarterly trimmed mean inflation rate between 2.6 and 2.7 per cent over the year, would fall in the RBA's target band of 2 to 3 per cent and open the door for further interest rate relief. In company news, shares in jeweller Michael Hill jumped 2.47 per cent to $0.42 on the bell after the business announced founder Sir Michael Hill died at age 86 earlier on Tuesday. 'To every endeavour he pursued, Michael brought a deep sense of purpose, an enduring curiosity, open-mindedness and creativity that challenged all of us to embrace ever more lofty goals and be unconstrained in our thinking – a legacy that will continue to inspire us,' Michael Hill chairman Rob Fyfe said in a statement to the ASX. Boss Energy continued its slump following the announcement of its result on Monday, dropping another 5.51 per cent to $1.80. The stock fell more than 40 per cent after warning the market it is unlikely to meet its production targets at its Honeymoon project in South Australia on the back of costs and concerns about the uranium quality. Shares in wagering company Tabcorp finished 1.31 per cent higher to $0.78 after Aware Super told the market it exited its stake on July 24 on the back of strong gains made earlier this year. Read related topics: ASX
Sydney Morning Herald
an hour ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
AUKUS critic from US has tangled Aussie connection
We are sure that there is nothing personal behind the intense scrutiny that US defence official Elbridge Colby is applying to the $368 billion AUKUS nuclear submarine agreement Australia has with the US and UK. Colby is under-secretary of defence for policy, the third-most senior official in the US Defence Department, responsible for briefing US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth. But Colby has family ties to Australia, and none of them are pleasant. As has been reported, Colby's grandfather was William Colby, a CIA director in the 1970s. But what has escaped attention so far is how the former CIA director later became an adviser to the Nugan Hand investment bank. It is difficult to find a more infamous name in recent Australian history. The investment bank collapsed in 1980 after one of its partners, Frank Nugan, was found dead from gunshot wounds in Lithgow. Another partner, Michael Hand, went on the run for decades. Loading As this paper reported in 2015: 'The bank collapsed with debts in excess of $50 million, and a subsequent royal commission found evidence of money-laundering, illegal tax avoidance schemes and widespread violations of banking laws. 'Over the years, the two words 'Nugan Hand' became shorthand for drug-dealing, gun-running, organised crime and clandestine intelligence activities. 'But nobody has been convicted. Governments, security and espionage agencies ran dead or appeared to look the other way. Many men associated with the bank's affairs in Australia, the US and Asia have died early or in mysterious circumstances.'
