President Donald Trump pledges full support for submarine pact with Australia
The AUKUS pact has received Donald Trump’s backing as Australia hands over its first payment to the US for the nuclear submarine deal.
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Donald Trump wants America’s alliance with Australia to be its strongest bond with any nation, the President’s defence chief has revealed, with the administration fully supporting the AUKUS pact.
As Australia handed over a $US500m down payment on the nuclear submarine deal with the US, Mr Trump’s Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth described AUKUS as a signature part of America’s military might in a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles.
The President has not spoken publicly about his views on the pact, which was negotiated by his predecessor Joe Biden, sparking concern in Canberra after his stunning return to power.
But Mr Hegseth declared Mr Trump was “very aware, supportive of AUKUS” and appreciated Australia’s $US3bn investment in America’s defence industrial base to accelerate submarine production over the next decade.
“It enhances our ability in the subterranean (sic) space, but also our allies and partners. This is not a mission in the Indo-Pacific that America can undertake by itself,” he said during a meeting with Mr Marles in Washington DC.
“Subs are a huge part of it, so he’s aware, and appreciative for his support and leadership.”
Mr Hegseth, an Army veteran, served alongside Australian soldiers and said they were “some of the finest”.
Last week @PeteHegseth and I spoke for the first time as counterparts. Today, we had the opportunity to meet for the first time, two weeks on from his confirmation as US Secretary of Defense.
— Richard Marles (@RichardMarlesMP) February 7, 2025
Our meeting continues the more than a century of ties between our two defence forces. pic.twitter.com/1asdR2kFcS
“Australia is the forefront of our alliance there and throughout the world, there’s just no doubt about it. And it’s strong and growing evermore, especially under President Trump’s leadership in the first administration,” he said.
“He has charged me with making sure this is as robust an alliance as we have in the entire world. So as far as defence is concerned, force posture, defence industrial base, joint capabilities cooperation and AUKUS, of course, are signature parts.”
Asked if the US would deliver the first of three Virginia-class nuclear submarines to Australia on time in the early 2030s, Mr Hegseth said: “I sure hope so.”
“Part of what President Trump is committed to doing is cutting red tape, investing in the defence industrial base, ensuring that we stand by our allies and partners,” he said, adding that the US under the Trump administration would be “no worse enemy and no better ally”.
“That’s what he’s charged me with at the Defence Department, that when we make these strategic partnerships and we invest in them and there’s skin in the game – as the Deputy Prime Minister pointed out – we’re going to do everything possible to help deliver on that.”
Mr Marles transferred the first $US500m payment to the US after an introductory call with Mr Hegseth last month, telling him: “We really understand the importance of building our capability, but in paying our way. That is a very important principle that we bring to bear.”
Asked if the US was building submarines quickly enough, amid widespread concerns about the production delays, the Deputy Prime Minister acknowledged there had been “challenges in the past”.
“We are encouraged by the progress, there’s a way to go, but this is something that jointly we’re going to get done,” Mr Marles told reporters at the Pentagon.
“It needs to be done from the perspective of both of our countries, it needs to be done in terms of the deterrence that represents in the Indo-Pacific and around the world.”
.@SecDef answers press questions prior to a bi-lateral meeting Deputy Prime Minister of Australia and Minister of Defense @RichardMarlesMPpic.twitter.com/gSxsGydlMr
— Department of Defense 🇺🇸 (@DeptofDefense) February 7, 2025
He welcomed Mr Hegseth’s commitment to the US-Australia alliance and the Indo-Pacific, saying it was “critically important for us”.
“But it’s not a surprise, because the whole idea of a free and open Indo-Pacific really has its origins during the first Trump administration,” the Defence Minister said.
“The contemporary expression of the alliance is really found in what we’re doing together in respect of AUKUS. AUKUS is a very powerful symbol of our two countries working together in the Indo-Pacific.”
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Originally published as President Donald Trump pledges full support for submarine pact with Australia