Bipartisan support: US Senators back AUKUS pact amid Pentagon review
US Senators have shown bipartisan support for the AUKUS defence pact, as the Pentagon considers whether it aligns with the Trump administration’s America First agenda.
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United States Senators from both sides of the bench have launched an impassioned argument in favour of the trilateral AUKUS defence pact, arguing it is overwhelmingly in the best interest of Australia, the United Kingdom and America.
The $370 billion submarine deal is currently under review by the Pentagon as it considers whether the defence deal aligns with the Trump administration’s America First agenda.
In an open letter to US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, five Republican and Democratic Senators joined together to argue the pact was a critical pillar of America’s mission to deter Chinese aggression in the Indo-Pacific region.
The Senators pointed to Mr Hegseth’s own comments in February when Australia made a $500 million payment toward the program, saying: “this is not a mission, in the Indo-Pacific, that America can undertake by itself. It has to be (done by) robust allies and partners. Technology sharing and subs are a huge part of it”.
“We strongly agree with those remarks,” the bipartisan group including House Sea Power Subcommittee ranking member Joe Courtney and Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul wrote.
“Since AUKUS was announced, support among Congress – and partners in all three nations – has grown immensely and we have worked quickly to recognise AUKUS’ mission to deter Chinese aggression in the Indo-Pacific region.”
The 30-day review announced earlier this month is being led by AUKUS sceptic Elbridge Colby who previously described the deal as “crazy” and questioned why the US would give away important war fighting capabilities.
Under the current terms, Australia would acquire three to five Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarines from the US beginning in the early 2030s – but only if it does not degrade America’s sea power capabilities.
The Senators argued the country’s submarine industrial base was rebounding from the pandemic era slowdown and was increasing its construction pace.
“With a record $10 billion investment in the submarine industrial base from Congress since 2018-with continued significant investment by the Navy in the fiscal year 2026 budget request-and an additional $3 billion from Australia, we are confident in our ability to meet both US fleet requirements and our AUKUS commitments,” they wrote.
“We believe this significant expansion in the industrial base puts on the path to ensuring we will have sufficient US submarine capabilities in 2032, 2035, and 2038 to allow for the agreed upon sales.”
Anthony Albanese had planned to argue Australia’s case for the continuation of the AUKUS pact during a bilateral meeting with Donald Trump at the G7 Summit in Canada last week but missed the opportunity when the US President left early to deal with the unfolding Middle East conflict.
Ms Albanese considered but ultimately decided against attending this week’s NATO meeting in the Netherlands where he may have crossed paths with Mr Trump.
However Defence Minister Richard Marles will attend in the PM’s place. It is unclear whether he will have an opportunity to put Australia’s case to the President.
Mr Trump is scheduled to have bilateral meetings on Wednesday local time at The Hague.
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US PLANS FIRST NUKE POWER PLANT IN 15 YEARS
New York is planning to build the first major new US nuclear power plant in more than 15 years, Governor Kathy Hochul said – and it will have enough output to power 1 million homes.
Ms Hochul revealed the plans in an interview with the Wall Street Journal on Monday local time, saying she’d requested the New York Power Authority to add at least 1 gigawatt of electricity generation to the state’s nuclear power capacity.
The authority is set to find a site upstate for the new facility and will come up with the new reactor’s design.
She added that the public utility could go at it alone or enlist private entities.
“I’m going to lean into making sure that every company that wants to come to New York and everyone who wants to live here will never have to worry about reliability and affordability when it comes to their utility costs,” Hochul told the outlet.
WHITE HOUSE ADVOCATES FOR IRANIANS TO OVERTHROW REGIME
Donald Trump thinks Iranians should overthrow their government if it refuses to negotiate on its nuclear program, but the US president is “still interested” in diplomacy, the White
House said.
“If the Iranian regime refuses to come to a peaceful diplomatic solution, which the president is still interested and engaging in, by the way, why shouldn’t the Iranian people take away the power of this incredibly violent regime that has been suppressing them for decades?” Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Fox News.
TRUMP NOMINATED FOR NOBEL PEACE PRIZE
Pakistan has announced it will recommend Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize, an accolade the US President has said he craves for his work in helping to resolve the recent conflict between India and Pakistan.
Some analysts in Pakistan said the move could even persuade Mr Trump to think again about potentially joining Israel in striking Iran’s nuclear facilities. Pakistan has condemned Israel’s action as a violation of international law and a threat to regional stability.
In May, a surprise announcement by Mr Trump of a ceasefire brought an end to a four-day conflict between nuclear armed foes India and Pakistan.
Mr Trump has since repeatedly said that he averted a nuclear war, saved millions of lives, and grumbled that he got no credit for it. Pakistan agrees that US diplomatic intervention ended the fighting, and said the Nobel recommendation was “in recognition of his decisive diplomatic intervention and pivotal leadership” during the recent conflict.
“President Trump demonstrated great strategic foresight and stellar statesmanship through robust diplomatic engagement with both Islamabad and New Delhi, which de-escalated a rapidly deteriorating situation,” Pakistan said. “This intervention stands as a testament to his role as a genuine peacemaker.”
Indian officials have denied that Mr Trump had any role in its ceasefire with Pakistan
But Mr Trump is not convinced he’ll get the gong.
Taking to his Truth Social platform, Mr Trump posted a laundry list of reasons why he believes that he should get a Nobel Peace Prize.
In a Truth Social post, the US President celebrated that he was “very happy” to report on a series of deals and agreements to end global conflicts that he “won’t get a Nobel Peace Prize for.”
“I won’t get a Nobel Peace Prize for stopping the War between India and Pakistan, I won’t get a Nobel Peace Prize for stopping the War between Serbia and Kosovo, I won’t get a Nobel Peace Prize for keeping Peace between Egypt and Ethiopia (A massive Ethiopian built dam, stupidly financed by the United States of America, substantially reduces the water flowing into The Nile River),” Mr Trump wrote.
“And I won’t get a Nobel Peace Prize for doing the Abraham Accords in the Middle East which, if all goes well, will be loaded to the brim with additional Countries signing on, and will unify the Middle East for the first time in ‘The Ages!’”
He added, “No, I won’t get a Nobel Peace Prize no matter what I do, including Russia/Ukraine, and Israel/Iran, whatever those outcomes may be, but the people know, and that’s all that matters to me!”
Mr Trump campaigned for office as a “peacemaker” who would use his negotiating skills to quickly end wars in Ukraine and Gaza, although both conflicts are still raging five months into his presidency.
. Mr Trump has received multiple Nobel Peace Prize nominations from supporters and loyal politicians over the years.
He has made no secret of his irritation at missing out on the prestigious award, bringing it up as recently as February during an Oval Office meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
President Barack Obama won the prize soon after taking office in 2009, and Mr Trump complained during his 2024 election campaign that his Democratic predecessor was not worthy of the honour.
– with AFP
Originally published as Bipartisan support: US Senators back AUKUS pact amid Pentagon review
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