SYDNEY (Reuters) -Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese welcomed comments by his British counterpart at the G7 summit that Britain and the United States will proceed with the AUKUS nuclear submarine treaty with Australia, despite a Pentagon review.
“We’re proceeding with that, it’s a really important deal to both of us,” British Prime Minister Keir Starmer told reporters in Canada on Monday when asked about AUKUS, standing next to U.S. President Donald Trump after they met to discuss trade and security.
“I think the president is doing a review, we did a review when we came into government so that makes good sense to me,” he added.
Albanese had been scheduled to hold his first meeting with Trump at the G7 summit to press support for AUKUS, however that did not happen as Trump left early due to the situation in the Middle East.
Albanese told reporters AUKUS held “great advantages” for the three partners.
“That is why we support AUKUS and that is why I am confident that all three nations will continue to provide support for it.”
In 2023, the United States, Australia and Britain unveiled details of the plan to provide Australia with nuclear-powered attack submarines from the early 2030s to counter China’s ambitions in the Indo-Pacific.
The Pentagon said last week AUKUS was being reviewed to ensure it “aligned with the President’s America First agenda.”
The commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, Admiral Stephen Koehler, declined to comment when asked how important Australia’s acquisition of submarines under AUKUS was to U.S. strategy in Asia and deterrence of China.
“The department is currently reviewing all of the AUKUS pieces,” he told a conference hosted by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, speaking by video from Hawaii. “I think Australia has desire to have a strong submarine force, and I’ll hold my comments specifically on AUKUS as the department reviews that.”
(Reporting by Kirsty Needham in Sydney; Additional reporting by David Brunnstrom and Michael Martina in Washington; Editing by Stephen Coates and Rod Nickel)
