WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump threw his support behind the trilateral AUKUS agreement today, even suggesting the US is moving more quickly to provide nuclear-powered subs to Australia.
“The submarines that we’re building for Australia [are] starting to really move along,” Trump said sitting next to Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at the White House. When asked if the US would want to expedite delivery of those subs, Trump said, “we’re doing that” but did not offer up a timeline.
His comments, though, could offer reassurance to Australia, as well as AUKUS member Great Britain, after the Pentagon caught lawmakers and allies by surprise this summer when it announced a new review of the deal to “ensure the initiative meets these common sense, America First criteria.”
That review is set to officially wrap up this fall, but a DoD official told lawmakers earlier this month that when it’s done they can expect Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby to unveil specific recommendations on how to strengthen Pillar I and make it more “sustainable.”
AUKUS is divided into two pillars. Pillar I currently involves the sale of at least three US-made Virginia-class submarines to Australia before the creation of SSN AUKUS nuclear-powered submarines for both the UK and Australia. However, the US shipbuilding industrial base is already straining to keep up with the US Navy’s demands, prompting concern from US seapower advocates. Pillar II is a broader initiative to jointly develop critical cutting edge technologies from hypersonic missiles to quantum platforms.
Today at the White House, Navy Secretary John Phelan said that the goal of the AUKUS review was to make the original deal “better” and clear up some of the “ambiguity.”
“It should be a win-win for everybody,” Phelan added.
For his part, Albanese also praised the current deal and said the nations have been in discussions about “taking it to the next level.”
“Our defense and security partnership with AUKUS is so important for us,” he added. “I thank you for the support that the [Trump] administration is giving.”