AUKUS deal under threat as Trump administration considers 'backing away' from Biden-era submarine contract
The Trump administration is considering "backing away" from the Biden-era AUKUS deal with Australia and the United Kingdom after it launched a formal review of the defence pact worth hundreds of billions of dollars.
The review, led by the Pentagon, is set to cause a stir in Australia which sees the submarine deal as a critical defence investment of deterrence as tensions grow in the Indo-Pacific.
The United Kingdom will also quake over the potential scrapping of AUKUS as the deal is central to the expansion of its submarine fleet.
"We are reviewing AUKUS as part of ensuring that this initiative of the previous administration is aligned with the President's America First agenda," the official said of the review, which was first reported by Financial Times.
"Any changes to the administration's approach for AUKUS will be communicated through official channels, when appropriate."
The AUKUS deal, formed in 2021 to address China's rapidly growing militarisation, is designed to allow Australia to acquire nuclear-powered attack submarines and other advanced weapons such as hypersonic missiles.
In a statement provided to The Australian, the Pentagon said the review of AUKUS was part of ensuring the initiative of the previous administration initiative meets the "common sense" criteria of President Donald Trump's America First Agenda.
'As (Defence) Secretary (Pete) Hegseth has made clear, this means ensuring the highest readiness of our servicemembers, that allies step up fully to do their part for collective defence, and that the defence industrial base is meeting our needs,' the Pentagon said.
'This review will ensure the initiative meets these common sense, America First criteria.' Vocal sceptics of the AUKUS deal among Trump's senior policy officials include Elbridge Colby, the Pentagon's top policy advisor. In a 2024 talk with Britain's Policy Exchange think-tank, Mr Colby cautioned that US military submarines were a scarce, critical commodity, and that US industry could not produce enough of them to meet American demand. They would also be central to US military strategy in any confrontation with China centred in the First Island Chain, an area that runs from Japan through Taiwan, the Philippines and on to Borneo, enclosing China's coastal seas. "My concern is why are we giving away this crown jewel asset when we most need it," Mr Colby said.
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