Anthony Albanese speaks up on AUKUS defence pact during Fiji visit

Anthony Albanese has declared the $368bn AUKUS defence pact is central to the security of Australia, the US and Britain ahead of meetings that could be undermined by the unfolding war in the Middle East.

Anthony Albanese arrives in Fiji on Friday on his way to North America. Picture: PMO

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Anthony Albanese has declared the $368bn AUKUS defence pact is central to the security interests of Australia, the US and Britain ahead of the G7 summit in Canada and a critical meeting with Donald Trump that threatens to be undermined by the unfolding war in the Middle East.

After initially staying silent on the Pentagon’s decision to hold a snap 30-day review into the ­nuclear submarine deal, the Prime Minister on Friday responded to the US government’s defence probe in a brief remark made before meeting Fijian Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka.

As Australian officials remain in the dark over whether there would or wouldn’t be a bilateral meeting with the US President on the sidelines of Mark Carney’s G7 summit in Kananaskis, Mr Albanese did not hold a press conference during his overnight stop in Fiji but allowed a couple questions from a pool of two journalists before his dinner meeting with Mr Rabuka.

Asked if he was concerned about the US review into the AUKUS agreement and whether his government could bring forward defence spending in a sign of good faith, Mr Albanese said that as an incoming government, the Trump administration had every right to hold a review, “just like the Australian did with our ­Defence Strategic Review and just like the government of (British Prime Minister) Keir Starmer had as well”.

“We are very confident, though, that AUKUS is in the interest of all three of our nations, and that it will play an important role in peace, security and stab­ility around the world at a time when that is absolutely necessary,” he said.

Mr Albanese, who has come under pressure from the White House to lift the nation’s defence spending to 3.5 per cent of GDP, will fly to the northwest US city of Seattle on Saturday to talk-up the Australia-US economic relationship in the face of Mr Trump’s trade tariffs and focus on artificial intelligence opportunities before travelling to Canada for the G7 summit.

Mr Carney has invited Mr ­Albanese to participate in talks with the G7 leaders of Canada, the US, Japan, Britain, France, Italy and Germany, which have been themed around energy security, global economic pressures, geopolitical competition, migration, people-smuggling and climate change, particularly wildfires.

Mr Albanese on Friday faced a push from the Australian parliament to re-examine AUKUS, with several independents including Andrew Wilkie, Jacqui Lambie and Kate Chaney demanding the government launch another inquiry into the project and investigate if it was serving the nation’s best interests.

The Labor leader was also criticised by the Coalition for being “dismissive” over the disagreement with the US to lift Australia’s defence spending to levels comparable to what Washington was investing.

Opposition finance spokesman James Paterson accused Mr Albanese of suggesting the Trump administration was interfering with Australian sovereignty by asking for Canberra to increase its defence spending.

“The Prime Minister himself said repeatedly that this is a question of Australian sovereignty, ­repeatedly said that, implying that this is some inappropriate ­intervention,” Senator Paterson told Sky News.

“Of course we should decide our own defence spending, but we’ve got plenty of our own reasons to do that and we don’t need to be disrespectful to our American friends in doing so.”

Ahead of travelling to Canada for the G7 summit, held between June 15-17, Mr Trump must navigate national security meetings in response to the unfolding war between Israel and Iran and manage growing protests against his immigration policies.

Mr Albanese meets Fijian Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka on Friday. Picture: PMO

While Mr Trump is likely to still attend, contingent on a range of external factors, he is not expected to be present for the entirety of the summit.

Amid ongoing Chinese efforts to expand its soft and hard footprints across the South Pacific, Mr Albanese made a stop in Nadi on his one-week overseas trip to meet with Mr Rabuka ahead of travelling to North America.

Mr Albanese used his third visit to Fiji since winning the 2022 election to discuss Australia’s increasingly closer ties with the South Pacific economic powerhouse around security, sports, business and investment.

In addition to Australia funding major defence and border security programs, including the Blackrock Peacekeeping facility, Mr Albanese spoke about his joint bid with South Pacific nations about co-hosting next year’s UN COP31 climate change summit.

Mr Albanese said his visit to Fiji so soon after his landslide election victory on May 3 was a “deliberate decision to reinforce my government’s Pacific priorities and to exchange views with my dear friend Prime Minister Rabuka”.

“Australia understands that our prosperity and our security lies here in the Pacific and we are committed to being a full, respectful member of the Pacific family. We recognise the critical leadership role that Fiji plays in the ­region. This is particularly important in this time of global uncertainty,” he said.