Defence Minister Richard Marles’ visit to Washington last week to meet with US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth offered reassurance that the second Trump administration would continue to back the AUKUS nuclear submarine deal and uphold Australia’s crucial security ties with the US. Of course, it did not hurt that Marles came with an $800 million cheque to help boost America’s industrial base and nuclear submarine production capacity under the $368 billion AUKUS deal.

AUKUS is a trilateral pact between Australia, the UK and the US that will supply Australia with eight nuclear-powered submarines over the next three decades. It is the biggest investment in defence capability in Australia’s history and promises to create a new and important military deterrent to help maintain peace and stability in a free and open Indo-Pacific region. AUKUS reinforcing the US-Australia alliance is a welcome counter to China’s increasing geostrategic assertiveness.