Richard Marles downplays Trump administration's review of AUKUS

Australia Broadcast Center

a day ago

Defence Minister Richard Marles has downplayed concerns the United States will review the AUKUS agreement, insisting it is a "natural" step and will not threaten the acquisition of nuclear-powered submarines.
The Pentagon review of the security pact will assess its alignment with Donald Trump's "America-first" agenda and will be led by senior official Elbridge Colby, regarded as an AUKUS sceptic.
It follows US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's public call for Australia to boost defence spending by tens of billions of dollars in the near term, which was brushed off by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
A defence official said the purpose of the review was to ensure "allies step up fully to do their part for collective defence".
Mr Marles said he remained "very confident" AUKUS would be delivered and suggested an American review was no different to Australia's defence strategic review, which took AUKUS as a given, and a recent UK review.
"It's something that it's perfectly natural for an incoming administration to do … It's exactly what we did," he told ABC Melbourne.
"There is a plan here, we are sticking to it, and we're going to deliver it."
The prime minister has yet to finalise arrangements for his first face-to-face meeting with Mr Trump on the sidelines of next week's G7 summit but has had two disagreements with his administration in recent days, also provoking its anger for sanctioning two Israeli ministers.
But Mr Marles said Australia had been briefed in advance about the review and a spokesperson said the government remained confident of the Trump administration's "clear and consistent" support for AUKUS.
"I'm very confident that this is going to happen, there's a treaty-level agreement between our three countries [and] it's an agreement that we have been pursuing at a pace," he said.
The review has sparked concern in official circles and emboldened AUKUS critics.
Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, who is avowedly anti-AUKUS, said it was "time to wake up" and renewed calls for Australia to hold its own review, accusing the major parties of a "denial of reality" about the prospects of the submarine deal.
Greens senator David Shoebridge also repeated calls for an inquiry and said "every rational observer" would conclude that AUKUS was "sinking".
Mr Colby, who is the Pentagon's undersecretary in charge of policy, last year labelled himself an AUKUS "agnostic", saying he supported the idea "in principle" but was "very sceptical in practice".
Hours before news broke of the review, he tweeted comments from his superior, Mr Hegseth, calling for US allies in the Indo-Pacific to boost defence spending.
Mr Colby was more ambivalent about AUKUS in his confirmation hearings, saying the US government should "do everything we can to make this work" and that it would be "great" to provide the submarines as planned.
But he added it would be "a very difficult problem" for the US if it was not possible to make enough submarines to service both American and Australian needs.
"We don't want our service men and women to be in a weaker position and more vulnerable and, God forbid, worse because [the submarines] are not in the right place in the right time," he said at the time.
A US government source also told the ABC it was "crystal clear" the Trump administration was trying to link the review with its push to get Australia to lift defence spending.
Joe Hockey, a former Australian ambassador to the US who is now a defence industry consultant, said he suspected Mr Colby had capitalised on the recent disagreement over defence spending to set up this review.
"[Colby] is a bit of a sceptic … He would have seen that as an opportunity," he told ABC Radio National, adding the review was a reminder Australia needed to remain "vigilant".
"I keep suggesting to the Australian government in various ways that you can't ignore the Trump administration. You need to deeply engage with it," he said.
"Now, [current ambassador] Kevin Rudd has been doing that at various levels, but ultimately it is really important that the prime minister and the president, when they meet next week, have a detailed discussion."
Mr Hockey said the deal was "all or nothing" for Australia.
"If we do not get the Virginia-class submarines in 2032, we have no options left. We have no submarines … If you're not going to partner with the United States, who do you partner with?"
Richard Spencer, a former secretary of the US Navy and now the chair of defence company Austal, told ABC Radio National he was confident the review would affirm the merits of AUKUS.
"I have nothing but respect for Bridge Colby's ability to analyse complex situations … I am one of the believes that thinks AUKUS is one of the best bits of state-craftery in recent years," he said.
"I think it's completely normal for the Trump administration to do a review … I actually welcome the review, because every time something is reviewed, questioned and answered, I believe it strengthens the actual precepts of the agreement itself."
Angus Taylor, the Coalition's defence spokesperson, said the review was "deeply concerning" and added to "a growing list of issues in Australia's relationship with the United States".
"If this review has been triggered by the Albanese government's refusal to commit to increased defence spending and its sanctioning of two Israeli ministers, then the government has very serious questions to answer," he said.