Trump administration’s AUKUS deal review details refused by Richard Marles 12 times

Marles also asked whether the US was pushing Australia to spend more on defense or whether the countries were trying to avoid AUKUS World War II. He declined to say whether he was narrowing down the defense capabilities with which he would share sensitive technology within the scope of his column.

While the Pentagon said it did not intend to make the review public, Marles declined to comment on the matter. He also did not say whether the Australian government agreed with the review’s recommendations.

Asked later in Sydney whether Australian taxpayers should expect more transparency about such a major project, Defense Industry Minister Pat Conroy told reporters questions about whether Trump administration officials should publish the review were “a matter for their own business”.

Conroy described the Pentagon review as a “living, breathing document” and suggested that its recommendations could be changed or not implemented.

“We are always looking for ways to improve AUKUS. If the review comes up with recommendations that improve AUKUS then of course we will deal with that.”

Greens defense spokesman David Shoebridge criticized the government for not releasing details of the review.

Loading

“The USA has found the world’s biggest sucker in Australia,” he said. “He takes billions of dollars in public funds from Australia, uses Australia as free real estate for his military, and owes Australia nothing in return other than the vague idea that second-hand nuclear submarines might one day have the Australian flag painted on them.”

Several concerned members of the US Congress read a version of the review. One of them, Democrat Joe Courtney, said he supported AUKUS but emphasized that there were “critical deadlines” within which all three countries must comply.

The next critical deadline is for US and UK nuclear-powered submarines to begin regular rotations at HMAS Stirling south of Perth in the fourth quarter of 2027, Marles said.

This imprint reported over the weekend that the Pentagon’s review of AUKUS, led by skeptical undersecretary Elbridge Colby, said: had to be significantly rewritten To match Trump’s enthusiasm for the deal.

Under the current timeline, Australia will purchase three Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarines from the US from 2032, followed by new AUKUS-class submarines with the UK in the 2040s.

But the US defense industrial base has struggled for years to produce enough boats for its own needs, let alone divert some to Australia. So, under the agreement, Australia will inject US$3 billion ($4.5 billion at current exchange rates) of cash into US shipbuilding.

Despite previous uncertainty regarding AUKUS under the Trump administration, the first US$1 billion was delivered in two separate payments this year following an agreed timeline.

‘We are very confident in ourselves’

Marles said the next $1 billion would be disbursed shortly and that he was pleased with the way the money was used. “We understand how this money is being spent and the contribution it’s making to increasing these production rates, and we’re very confident about what impact it’s having,” he said.

Hegseth applauded the extra funds in a brief joint statement before the meeting. “We are strengthening AUKUS to benefit America, Australia and the United Kingdom,” he said.

In a fact sheet distributed by the US State Department following the bilateral meeting, the US and Australia confirmed that the US Marine Corps’ famous MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft, capable of vertical takeoff and landing and high-speed flight, would be pre-positioned in Darwin, deepening the rapidly expanding American presence in northern Australia.

Hegseth also touted increased defense cooperation between the US and Australia, including additional rotations of US Air Force bombers through bases in Queensland and the Northern Territory, more rotational deployments of the US Marine Corps and deeper cooperation in the production of guided missiles, including hypersonic attack cruise missiles.

Loading

Rubio, meanwhile, emphasized the importance of the critical mineral agreement framework agreed to by Trump and Albanese at the White House in October.

“We really don’t have a better friend,” he said of Australia.

He also confirmed that the United States stands with the Quad, a diplomatic partnership comprising the United States, Australia, Japan and India, despite the cancellation of a leaders’ summit planned for this year due to friction between Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.