TRANSCRIPT
Australia's Defence Minister Richard Marles is downplaying concerns over news the United States government has placed the AUKUS defence agreement under review, threatening Australia's access to nuclear-powered submarines.
"We've known about the review for some time. We welcome it."
He's being interviewed here on Sky News.
"I do have a sense of confidence about the way in which AUKUS is playing out under the Trump administration, and that we will meet the pathway that we have committed to and that we've committed to in a treaty between our three nations, but in the context of that I think it's totally understandable that an incoming government will want to undertake a review."
The third party to the AUKUS is the United Kingdom - and they are also reviewing the $368 billion defence pact.
But it's the US review of this massive submarine deal that has caused alarm in some quarters.
It falls against a backdrop of doubts about Donald Trump's stance.
REPORTER: "Will you be discussing AUKUS with the prime minister, sir?"
TRUMP: "What does that mean?"
REPORTER: "AUKUS, the Australia-US defence alliance."
That exchange took place in February, and although Mr Trump later clarified that he does know what AUKUS is, it left lingering questions about whether it's seen as a priority.
The purpose of the US review is to assess whether the agreement aligns with the Trump administration's 'America first' agenda.
Australia has already invested $800 million dollars as a down payment to secure three Virginia class nuclear submarines from 2032.
The US defence bureaucrat conducting the review, according to reporting from the Financial Times, is Elbridge Colby.
He's expressed scepticism about AUKUS before.
"If we can produce the attack submarines in sufficient number and sufficient speed, then great but if we can't that becomes a very difficult problem because we don't want our servicemen and women to be in a weaker position and more vulnerable. "
The US submarine building program is lagging years behind its production schedule, prompting concerns Australia's submarines could be delayed or simply not delivered at all.
Speaking with Sky, Richard Marles concedes that, on this front, there is work to do.
"There is a big challenge, in getting those sustainment and production rates up. We knew that when we signed, when we reached the optimal pathway agreement back in March of 2023.”
News of the review comes as the Trump administration pressures Australia to hike defence spending to 3.5 per cent of GDP, with US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth highlighting what he called "a real and potentially imminent" threat from China.
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese pushed back against that pressure.
"Ah, no, what we'll do is we'll determine our defence policy, and we've invested - just across the forwards - an additional ten billion dollars in defence. What we'll do is continue to provide for investing in our capability, but also investing in our relationships in the region."
Australia currently spends around 2 per cent of GDP on defence, with a goal to raise that to 2.3 per cent within ten years.
The Coalition has pushed for a higher target of 2.5 per cent within 5 years, and 3 per cent inside the next decade.
Defence spokesperson Angus Taylor has sought to highlight this difference in light of today's news.
"We need to know to what extent was the review triggered by Labor's failure to fund defence in this country."
The Coalition has also been critical of Australia's decision to level sanctions this week against two far-right Israeli ministers for inciting violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
Australia's other AUKUS partner, the UK, applied the same sanctions, along with Canada, New Zealand, and the Netherlands.
But the US, a close ally and arms supplier to Israel, says the sanctions undermine its efforts to advance a ceasefire in Gaza.
Mr Taylor also questioned whether the decision to sanction Israel was a factor behind the US review.
Meanwhile, others suggest the US review points to a need for Australia to conduct its own.
"There is literally a denial of reality in Canberra. I don't think we're going to get any submarines from the Americans."
That was former Liberal Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull speaking this morning to the ABC.
Another outspoken former PM, Paul Keating, says in a statement that this "might be the moment Washington saves Australia from itself".
The Greens have also been critical of the AUKUS agreement.
Here's defence spokesperson, Senator David Shoebridge.
"If you wanted to be reckless with Australia's defence, you would continue down the AUKUS path. Yet that is exactly what Labor and the Coalition are proposing to do, without any review. Right now, we need an urgent parliamentary review into AUKUS, which can't just be populated by the noddies in Labor and the coalition, but which must have critics of AUKUS on that parliamentary review. The Australian public deserves at least that."
Richard Marles has dismissed calls to dump AUKUS or develop a Plan B, saying there can be no more alterations after years of indecisive policy on defence acquisition.
All eyes are now on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese who is expected to meet with Donald Trump on the sidelines of the G7 summit next week.
