Trump administration launches review of Biden era Aukus defence pact with Australia UK

WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump’s administration has launched a formal review of a defence pact that former president Joe Biden made with Australia and the United Kingdom allowing Australia to acquire conventionally armed nuclear submarines, a US defence official told Reuters.

The launch of the formal, Pentagon-led review is likely to alarm Australia, which sees the submarines as critical to its own defence as tensions grow over China’s expansive military buildup.

It could also throw a wrench in Britain’s defence planning. The so-called Aukus pact is at the centre of a planned expansion of its submarine fleet.

“We are reviewing Aukus as part of ensuring that this initiative of the previous administration is aligned with the President’s America First agenda,” the official said of the review, which was first reported by Financial Times.

Any changes to the administrations approach for Aukus will be communicated through official channels, when appropriate.

Aukus, formed in 2021 to address shared worries about China’s growing power, is designed to allow Australia to acquire nuclear-powered attack submarines and other advanced weapons such as hypersonic missiles.

Vocal sceptics of the Aukus deal among Mr Trumps senior policy officials include Mr Elbridge Colby, the Pentagons top policy adviser.

In a 2024 talk with Britain’s Policy Exchange think-tank, Mr Colby cautioned that US military submarines were a scarce, critical commodity, and that US industry could not produce enough of them to meet American demand.

They would also be central to US military strategy in any confrontation with China centred in the First Island Chain, an area that runs from Japan through Taiwan, the Philippines and on to Borneo, enclosing Chinas coastal seas.

“My concern is why are we giving away this crown jewel asset when we most need it,” Mr Colby said.

The Australian and UK embassies in Washington