US NOT MEETING PRODUCTION TARGETS
The Pentagon’s top policy advisor Elbridge Colby, who has previously expressed concern the US would lose submarines to Australia at a critical time for military deterrence against China, will be a key figure in the review, examining the production rate of Virginia-class submarines, Marles said.
“It is important that those production and sustainment rates are improved,” he added.
AUKUS would grow the US and Australian defence industries and generate thousands of manufacturing jobs, Marles said in a statement.
John Lee, an Australian Indo-Pacific expert at Washington’s conservative Hudson Institute think tank, said the Pentagon review was “primarily an audit of American capability” and whether it can afford to sell up to five nuclear powered submarines when it was not meeting its own production targets.
“Relatedly, the low Australian defence spending and ambiguity as to how it might contribute to a Taiwan contingency is also a factor,” Lee said.
Charles Edel, Australia chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, said AUKUS was significant for “enhancing deterrence by putting more players in the field”, and it would be important for Albanese to seek reassurance from Trump when they meet.
“A necessary part of the conversation will be discussing how both Australia and the US are working to boost their own defence capabilities, enhancing allied integration, and delivering deterrent effects with a sense of urgency,” he said.
Under the multi-stage AUKUS timeline, Britain and Australia will jointly build a new AUKUS-class submarine expected to come into service from 2040.
Marles said Britain’s recently completed review of AUKUS was positive. Britain announced plans this month to increase the size of its nuclear-powered attack submarine fleet.
