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Australia's Albanese confident on AUKUS after British leader says it will proceed

Australia's Albanese confident on AUKUS after British leader says it will proceed

CNA17-06-2025
SYDNEY: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese welcomed comments by his British counterpart at the G7 that Britain and the United States will proceed with the AUKUS nuclear submarine treaty with Australia, despite a Pentagon review.
"We're proceeding with that, it's a really important deal to both of us," British Prime Minister Keir Starmer told reporters when asked about AUKUS, standing next to US President Donald Trump after they met on Monday to discuss trade and security.
"I think the president is doing a review, we did a review when we came into government so that makes good sense to me," he added.
Albanese had been scheduled to hold his first meeting with Trump the next day to press support for AUKUS, however the White House announced Trump would leave the G7 early.
Albanese later told reporters that AUKUS held "great advantages" for the three partners.
"That is why we support AUKUS and that is why I am confident that all three nations will continue to provide support for it," he told reporters in Calgary.
In 2023, the United States, Australia and Britain unveiled details of the plan to provide Australia with nuclear-powered attack submarines from the early 2030s to counter China's ambitions in the Indo-Pacific.
A Pentagon official said last week the administration was reviewing AUKUS to ensure it was "aligned with the President's America First agenda".
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