Australia left hanging by US on key submarine deal

Perth Now

5 days ago

Anthony Albanese has downplayed the extension of the US review of its multi-billion dollar nuclear submarine deal with its long-term ally.
The Pentagon announced a review of the AUKUS security pact in June, which was originally slated to take 30 days.
It has sparked alarm Australia might not be sold the promised submarines, as US shipyards fall behind on production.
But the US has now flagged the review will take longer and is now expected to finish between September and November.
Asked if the delay was concerning, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese replied: "No, it's not surprising that would be the case".
"We expect that those things take longer than just 30 days," he told reporters in Canberra on Wednesday.
Under the $368 billion agreement, Australia has been promised at least three Virginia-class submarines from the US in the early 2030s, before a new fleet of vessels is built for delivery from the 2040s.
"Its purpose will be to provide the president and his senior leadership team with a fact-based, rigorous assessment of the initiative," the statement reads.
US under secretary of defence Elbridge Colby - a sceptic of the submarine deal under AUKUS - is leading the review.
A US statement said the review would be an empirical and "clear-eyed assessment" of the security pact's alignment with US President Donald Trump's "America First" objective.
"As part of this process, the department looks forward to continuing regular engagements on this matter with other parts of the US government, the US Congress, our allies Australia and the United Kingdom, and other key stakeholders," it reads.
Defence analysts have flagged a likely outcome of the US review will be a request for more money from Australia to support its submarine industrial base.
Australia has since made its second $800 million payment to the US to help boost production of submarines, according to the Nine newspapers.