Donald Trump election unlikely to disrupt AUKUS, says Pat Conroy

Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy dismissed the prospect of problems for the AUKUS security pact should Donald Trump be re-elected in November.

Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy. Picture: X

Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy dismissed the prospect of problems for the AUKUS security pact should Donald Trump be re-elected in November, declaring the three-way military undertaking to provide Australia with nuclear-powered submarines to be “in the national interest of all three countries”.

In Washington for talks with senior US officials and congressmen to progress the deal, Mr Conroy announced Australian manu­facturer Bisalloy Steel would process steel for Newport News Shipbuilding, the largest military shipbuilder in the US and one of two US companies that builds US nuclear-powered submarines.

“The order of Aussie steel from a global leader in shipbuilding is not only testament to the efforts of the hard working women and men at Bisalloy but also ­underscores the Albanese government’s commitment to supporting local industry,” Mr Conroy said.

“This is a wonderful early example of opportunities for Australian companies to be part of the supply chains for the much larger submarine programs of our AUKUS partners.”

It follows a deal between Australian Submarine Agency and Bisalloy, announced in December, whereby the latter’s steel would be used in the forthcoming SSN-AUKUS class of nuclear-powered submarines, due to begin construction in Australia in the late 2030s.

Mr Conroy was in the US capital as Joe Biden announced the new trilateral air defence agreement with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, which will give Australia access to US and Japanese expertise and hardware for the ADF’s promised air and missile defence system.

“Quite frankly, the AUKUS arrangement is a multi-decade deal, a multi-decade technology sharing pact that will outlast governments of all persuasions in all three countries,” Mr Conroy said.

He also said it “wasn’t accurate” to refer to AUKUS as JAUKUS, as some commentators have amid speculation of Japan’s forthcoming involvement in advanced weapons development.

“Japan is not joining AUKUS, AUKUS is a trilateral agreement between Australia, United States, United Kingdom, if things go well, Japan will be a partner on specific projects”.

It comes as fears bottlenecks in US submarine production would hamper the transfer of Virginia-class submarines to Australia, as promised under the deal, have intensified in recent weeks amid reports production wasn’t close to what is required.