He's a sceptic. So what might Colby recommend to Trump on AUKUS?
'Why, for example, would we help country A arm itself if country A would not render assistance in a fight?' Hewitt wrote on X. 'If we don't know what our closest allies are genuinely committed to do in the event of a crisis of the first magnitude, can we call them 'close allies'?'
His words received backing from the US Defence Department's chief spokesman, Sean Parnell. One of Parnell's bosses, undersecretary of defence for policy Elbridge Colby, is leading the Pentagon's review of AUKUS to see if it fits President Donald Trump's 'America first' agenda.
This masthead has reported Colby intends to urge major changes to the program, though the broader Trump administration is split on the best way forward.
Those changes could include calls for Australia to lease the submarines rather than buy them; have US crews on board the nuclear boats; or give some form of guarantee to deploy them in conflicts involving the US. So how would those work? And what would that mean for Australia?
Commitment to join a conflict
US officials say Chinese President Xi Jinping wants the ability to invade the self-governing democratic island of Taiwan by 2027, and defence experts say a conflict over the disputed territory is increasingly likely as China expands its military capabilities. China views the island as a wayward province and an internal issue for the country.
Colby believes Australia should provide some form of guarantee that US-made nuclear submarines will be used in a possible conflict with China, this masthead has reported.
Australia already has a mechanism to join the US in conflict under the ANZUS treaty. The pact was signed by Australia, New Zealand and the US in 1951 in response to the spread of communism in the Pacific and the rearmament of Japan after World War II.
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