A Pentagon review of the AUKUS pact between the U.S., Australia and the U.K. is a ¡°brass-tack¡± evaluation of its affordability and whether the agreement fits with U.S. President Donald Trump¡¯s foreign-policy priorities, a Defense Department nominee has said.
The comments from John Noh, Trump¡¯s pick for assistant secretary for Indo-Pacific security affairs, mark a rare moment that the administration has acknowledged or offered even a little insight into the review of the agreement, which was signed under U.S. President Joe Biden.
¡°The department is conducting a review of AUKUS to make sure it is fully aligned with President Trump¡¯s ¡¯America First¡¯ foreign policy,¡± Noh told the Senate Armed Services Committee. ¡°It is a brass-tack, common-sense look at the realities facing AUKUS, including the state of our submarine industrial base.¡±
AUKUS is intended to checking China¡¯s military advance in the Indo-Pacific region. Central to the agreement is the project ¡ª expected to cost hundreds of billions of dollars ¡ª to help Australia develop a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines over 30 years. Another pillar is a defense technology sharing agreement.
The Trump administration announced the review earlier this year, raising fears from allies that the president was preparing to kill the pact. But it aligns with some of his top advisers¡¯ belief that the U.S. should focus more of its military assets on Asia, and may emerge as a rare Biden-era program that Trump won¡¯t scrap.
Sen. Roger Wicker, the Mississippi Republican who chairs the committee, said news of the review had been a ¡°distressing surprise¡± to Australia. People familiar with the matter said last month that Australia is confident the agreement will survive the review. They said it was focused on reinforcing the pact, not unraveling it.
Noh said he thinks there are ¡°common-sense things¡± that could be done to strengthen the submarine portion of the deal to make sure it¡¯s more sustainable. He didn¡¯t offer specifics.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese plans to meet with Trump in Washington later this month.
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