Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese expressed confidence on Friday that the AUKUS nuclear submarine deal with the US and the UK would move forward, after meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Speaking in London, Albanese said the meeting was a chance to discuss the “strongly building” support for AUKUS between the two allies, but would not be drawn on the position of US President Donald Trump.
The AUKUS pact, sealed in 2021, aims to provide Australia with nuclear-powered attack submarines from the next decade to counter China’s ambitions in the Indo-Pacific region.
Photo: AFP
Trump’s administration is undertaking a formal AUKUS review led by Elbridge Colby, a top Pentagon policy official and public critic of the agreement.
Asked if his meeting with Starmer gave him increased confidence that AUKUS would proceed, Albanese said: “I have always been confident about AUKUS going ahead.”
“Every meeting I’ve had and discussions I’ve had with people in the US administration have always been positive about AUKUS,” he added.
Under AUKUS — worth hundreds of billions of dollars — Washington would sell several Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarines to Canberra, while the UK and Australia would later build a new AUKUS-class submarine.
Australia and the UK signed a treaty in July to bolster cooperation over the next 50 years on AUKUS.
During his visit, Albanese is also expected to meet with King Charles, Australia’s official head of state.
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