“AUKUS has received strong bipartisan support from Congress for a reason,” they wrote. “We are stronger together under the AUKUS framework.”<\/p>\n
The ‘pillars’ of AUKUS<\/p>\n
- \n
- Pillar I: Submarines<\/strong> \u2013 providing Australia with a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines. Australia would buy at least three Virginia class subs from the US in the 2030s, and later build five of its own, probably in Adelaide.<\/li>\n
- Pillar II: Advanced capabilities<\/strong> \u2013 developing and providing joint advanced military capabilities in areas including undersea, quantum technologies, AI, advanced cyber, hypersonic weapons, electronic warfare, innovation and information sharing.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
They pointed to the Chinese navy’s deployment of aircraft carriers into the western Pacific in June<\/a>, and its live-fire exercises in the Tasman Sea in February<\/a> as troubling examples of Beijing “project[ing] blue-water capabilities at increasing distances from its shores”.<\/p>\n
“This attempt to project power as far south as New Zealand’s front door highlights the importance of AUKUS in cementing ties to longstanding allies like Australia, as well as advancing vital undersea capabilities that will be central to deterrence,” they wrote.<\/p>\n
Mr Morrison, who announced the AUKUS pact with then-leaders Joe Biden and Boris Johnson in 2021<\/a>, has previously spoken directly to Donald Trump about AUKUS. In June, he told the ABC he had “never had concerns” about the US president’s commitment to the pact.<\/p>\n
“I mean, there’s a review underway, and I think he’ll take notice of what Bridge Colby says, and I think we need to engage with that and make the case again,” he said.<\/p>\n
He later wrote a Wall Street Journal op-ed<\/a> describing the review as a chance to “refocus and recalibrate” and advocating for AUKUS’s expansion to outer-space security. “It’s time for AUKUS to grow, and Mr Trump is the right person for the job,” he wrote.<\/p>\n
The Australian government has also expressed confidence in the pact’s future, framing the review as a standard process for an incoming government and rejecting suggestions a “plan B” is needed.<\/p>\n
But American concerns about Australia’s defence budget remain a possible sticking point.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Pete Hegseth has been pushing Australia to spend more on defence. (Reuters: Kevin Lamarque)<\/p>\n
Mr Hegseth has urged Australia to lift defence spending to 3.5 per cent of GDP, from its current level of about 2 per cent. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has pushed back, saying Australia will determine its own defence priorities.<\/p>\n
The opposition has been pressuring Mr Albanese to prioritise a meeting with Mr Trump to press the case for AUKUS. Plans for a meeting in May fell through<\/a>.<\/p>\n
- Pillar II: Advanced capabilities<\/strong> \u2013 developing and providing joint advanced military capabilities in areas including undersea, quantum technologies, AI, advanced cyber, hypersonic weapons, electronic warfare, innovation and information sharing.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n