US delays AUKUS review as defence spending row drags on

Anthony Albanese has downplayed a major US decision involving AUKUS, saying it was expected and wasn’t being used as “leverage”.

Anthony Albanese has denied the US is using its AUKUS review as “leverage” after the Trump administration delayed it by several months.

Donald Trump’s defence policy chief Elbridge Colby announced the delay on Wednesday morning (AEST) but did not give a firm date.

Instead, Mr Colby, an AUKUS sceptic, said the review would be completed “in the fall” – much longer than the initial 30 days.

It comes as the Albanese government resists Washington’s demand to hike defence spending to 3.5 per cent of GDP in response to China’s rapid military build-up.

Mr Colby’s office said the AUKUS review would “be an empirical and clear-eyed assessment of the initiative’s alignment with President Trump’s America First approach”.

“As part of this process, the (US Department of Defence) looks forward to continuing regular engagements on this important matter with other parts of the US government, the US Congress, our allies Australia and the United Kingdom and other key stakeholders,” his office said.

“The department anticipates completing the review in the fall.

“Its purpose will be to provide the President and his senior leadership team with a fact-based, rigorous assessment of the initiative.”

Speaking to reporters at Parliament House, the Prime Minister was asked if the delay was “a cause for concern”.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says the US is not using AUKUS as ‘leverage’. Picture: Martin Ollman / NewsWire

“No, it is not surprising that that would be the case and something that we expected something like that,” Mr Albanese said.

“We expected a review from an incoming government just like the Keir Starmer government did (in the UK).

“We expect that those things take longer than just 30 days.”

Asked if it was being used as “leverage”, he simply replied: “No.”

Last week, Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles and UK Secretary of State John Healey signed a 50-year agreement to strengthen ties around the AUKUS nuclear submarine agreement.

Mr Marles described it as a “significant a treaty as has been signed between our two countries since federation”.

“It will very much underpin the development of AUKUS, the building of submarines in Adelaide, and what will ultimately see Australia and the United Kingdom operate the same class of nuclear powered submarines in the future,” he said.

Mr Healey said the treaty would support “tens of thousands of skilled, high paid jobs in both our nations”.

“It’s a treaty to build the most powerful, the most advanced attack submarines our two navies have ever had,” he said.

“It’s a treaty that strengthens NATO as well as security in the Indo-Pacific. It’s a treaty that will outlast us as politicians, that will safeguard the security of our children and our children’s children to come.”

Originally published as US delays AUKUS review as defence spending row drags on