US to 'Clarify Some Ambiguity' in Original AUKUS Agreement, Official Says
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese thanked President Donald Trump for supporting the nuclear-powered submarine deal and defense trade agreement known as AUKUS, calling it "so important for us," at a White House signing ceremony Oct. 20 for cooperation on critical minerals mining and processing.
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A review announced by the Pentagon in June triggered worries that the administration would scuttle plans to liberalize defense trade between the U.S., the U.K. and Australia, as well as plans to build more nuclear-powered subs to sell to those countries. Senate Republicans had expressed confidence that AUKUS would continue, however (see 2506170044).
Navy Secretary John Phelan said at the event that the administration is intending to "take the original AUKUS framework and improve it for all three parties ... and clarify some ambiguity that was in the prior agreement. It should be a win-win for everybody."
Several Australian reporters tried to elicit more details about those clarifications and probe whether there are still doubts that the submarine defense industrial base has the capacity to build more subs for foreign countries without sacrificing American sub delivery specials.
Trump brushed those questions aside. "We do have a lot of submarines," he told one reporter. "We have it all set." He also called the clarifications "minor details."
Rep. Joe Courtney, D-Conn., whose district includes a factory that designs and builds submarines, praised the leaders' move in a post on X. "After four months of uncertainty about continued U.S. support for AUKUS, this morning’s meeting powerfully endorsed AUKUS and ensured that it will be an enduring success for a free and open Indo-Pacific."