Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has welcomed remarks made by his British counterpart at the G7 Summit, reaffirming that the United Kingdom and the United States will move forward with the AUKUS nuclear submarine agreement with Australia, notwithstanding an ongoing review by the Pentagon.
‘Important Deal’
“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.
Meeting Unlikely
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 a day early amid a deepening crisis in the Middle East, and Australian officials said they did not expect a meeting would happen.
“Given what is occurring the Middle East, this is understandable,” Albanese’s spokesperson said in a statement.
Albanese earlier told reporters that AUKUS held “great advantages” for the three partners.
“Having Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States all having increased nuclear-powered submarines, in our case conventionally armed, is something that will make the Indo Pacific area more secure,” Albanese told reporters in Calgary.
“That is in the interests of the United States,” he added.
America First Agenda
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”.
(With inputs from Reuters)
