Pentagon Review Raises Questions About Australia's $368 Billion AUKUS Submarine Deal

Photo by Vedang Tandel on Unsplash

The Pentagon has launched a 30-day review of the AUKUS submarine agreement with Australia, raising concerns about the future of the $368 billion defense partnership as the Trump administration evaluates whether the deal aligns with America First priorities.

The review comes as U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has publicly pressured Australia to increase defense spending to 3.5% of GDP, while Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese travels to North America for discussions with U.S. officials.

Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles characterized the Pentagon review as "perfectly natural" and comparable to "vitamins for AUKUS," but defense analysts expressed growing concerns about the agreement's viability under the new administration.

"The more I hear from Richard Marles that this is perfectly natural and absolutely nothing to worry about, in fact, it's probably like vitamins for AUKUS, the more worried I get," said Michael Shoebridge, Director of Strategic Analysis at Australia Defence Expert.

The review examines two critical questions: whether AUKUS fits with Trump's signature "America First" agenda and whether Australia is building sufficient military capability to serve as an effective U.S. partner.

"The nub of AUKUS is America is giving its own submarines to us, weakening America to strengthen Australia. So that's a problem," Shoebridge explained. "The other big problem is the one the Prime Minister keeps avoiding, which is we're not spending enough or building a capable enough military to be a capable partner of America."

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