British Prime Minister Keir Starmer commits to AUKUS agreement
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer says the AUKUS agreement is 'very important' to the US and the UK and is proceeding despite Washington launching a review into the pact.
Standing alongside US President Donald Trump, Starmer told reporters at the G7 summit: 'We're proceeding with that, it's a really important deal to both of us.
'I think the president is doing a review, we did a review when we came into government, and that makes good sense to me.'
Trump said: 'We're very longtime partners and allies and friends and we've become friends in a short period of time.'
'He's slightly more liberal than me to put it mildly … but we get along.'
Under the $368 billion agreement, Australia will acquire three Virginia-class submarines from the US in the early 2030s before a new fleet of boats is built for delivery from the 2040s.
The three-nation partnership is between the US, Australia, and the UK, and was signed in 2021 under former Liberal prime minister Scott Morrison and the US Biden administration.
The Pentagon is reviewing whether the pact is in line with US President Donald Trump's 'America First' policy.
Critics of AUKUS point to the lagging production of boats in the US and warn that the deal might jeopardise the American navy's capabilities or undermine Australia's defence sovereignty.
Australia paid the US almost $800 million in February — the first of a number of payments — to help boost its US submarine industrial base.
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