Nuclear subs could hit water faster after Trump talks
Advanced military cooperation could be the next step for Australia and the United States following a cordial meeting between the two countries’ leaders.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese emerged from the White House unscathed after signing a critical mining deal with US President Donald Trump, who has clashed publicly with US President Donald Trump while hosting other world leaders.
The meeting could set the stage for the president to take additional steps to accelerate Australia’s purchase of nuclear-powered submarines, the first of which will be purchased from the United States early next decade.
Mr. Trump made his strongest commitment yet to the $368 billion project, ending months of uncertainty over whether he would support the deal.
When asked whether the submarines would be delivered to Australia, he replied “no, they are.”
“We are continuing the construction at full speed,” he told reporters in the cabinet room.
Mr Trump suggested the US could speed up delivery of the ships but did not give a timeline.
Jared Mondschein, director of research at the Center for United States Studies, said Australia would not receive the first submarines until after Mr Trump leaves office, but the president could increase cooperation in other areas of the military agreement, including the sharing of emerging technologies under the second pillar of AUKUS.
“If you can get President Trump to want to do AUKUS further, faster or more assertively, I still think that’s a pretty big win,” he told AAP.
But other experts question whether the AUKUS agreement’s timeline is feasible, given that the United States is struggling to meet its submarine production targets.
Perth USAsia Center CEO Gordon Flake said the Trump administration needed to do more to support the defense industrial base but was optimistic about Australia receiving its submarines on time.
“The US actually needs to strengthen its own production capacity,” he told AAP.
“This is what the president is talking about, it needs to go faster.”
Professor Flake said the deal was in the interest of both countries as Australian businesses would help accelerate American submarine production.
“They need industrial weight, we need submarines, and we need to work together in this process,” he said.
Mr Albanese also signed a multibillion-dollar critical minerals deal during his meeting with Mr Trump, which Prof Flake said showed a “sense of urgency” as China imposed restrictions on rare earth exports.
On Tuesday, Mr. Albanese and Australia’s Ambassador to the United States, Kevin Rudd, met with members of Congress, including Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
While in the US, the Prime Minister will meet business leaders as well as senior executives from BHP to celebrate the mining giant’s 140th anniversary and celebrate Australia’s resources sector.
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