US President Donald Trump appeared to be unaware of Australia’s $368billion military pact with the United States when he was questioned about the deal.
When asked by a British reporter whether he would be discussing AUKUS with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer during their meeting at the White House, the bemused president responded ‘What does that mean?’
When the reporter explained it was a three-way defence technology partnership between the US, the UK and Australia, Trump conceded it was on the agenda.
‘We’ll be discussing that. We have another great relationship, and you have too, with Australia,’ he said.
‘Yeah, we’ve had a very good relationship with Australia.’
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese previously said AUKUS represented a ‘new chapter’ in US and Australian relations and was the ‘biggest single investment in Australia’s defence capability in our history’.
The deal is anticipated to cost anywhere from $268billion to $368billion over the next 30 years and extends to matters including quantum computing, hypersonic missiles and artificial intelligence.
Australia will invest almost $5billion in America’s submarine industry in exchange for the opportunity to purchase several Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarines.
US President Donald Trump was initially confused when he was asked if AUKUS, a $368billion military pact with Australia and the UK, would be on the agenda for his meeting with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer (the pair are pictured at the White House on Thursday)
AUKUS is expected to cost anywhere from $268billion to $368billion over the next 30 years (pictured is what a SSN-AUKUS submarine will look like)
Though Joe Biden was in office when the deal was signed, many hoped its size and strategic significance would have curried good favour with the Trump administration.
When Australia confirmed its first $800million payment under the deal earlier this month, US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth said Trump was both supportive and ‘very aware’ of the deal.
In a recent phone call with Trump, Albanese touted the deal as one of a number of reasons why Australia should be exempted from a proposed 25 per cent tariff on all aluminium and steel exports to the US.
Immediately after the call, Mr Albanese fronted the press outside Parliament House to celebrate the success of the ‘constructive’ call.
‘The relationship is in good shape,’ he said.
When asked what Trump made of AUKUS, Mr Albanese was reluctant to lift the veil.
‘Well, quite clearly I’ve indicated there’s very positive support for the AUKUS relationship. I have no intention of speaking on behalf of President Trump.
‘That is up to him. But quite clearly, I’ve indicated there’s strong bipartisan support for AUKUS in Australia and in the United States.’
Employment Minister Murray Watt dismissed concern about the US president not knowing immediately what AUKUS was.
‘I wouldn’t make too much about a president with a very full plate not remembering one acronym. I think all of us go through that sort of thing at different times,’ he told ABC Radio on Friday.
‘You’ll see there that he was able to say very quickly about the strength of the relationship with Australia and the fact that AUKUS will be something he’ll be discussing with the British prime minister.’
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said Australia’s alliance with the US was still strong.
‘Not everyone you know gets the acronyms, and all the rest of it, but there’s no doubt in my mind that the president strongly supports the alliance between our three countries and strongly supports AUKUS,’ he told Nine’s Today program.
‘He stated that previously and the submarine deal… will underpin the national security of our country for the next century.’
Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles said a recent live-fire drill by three Chinese warships off Australia’s south-east coast demonstrated the urgency of the AUKUS deal.
‘We don’t know whether there is the presence of a submarine and that in part speaks to the nature of submarines,’ Mr Marles told ABC Radio National.
‘That’s why submarines matter. That’s why we’re investing heavily in our long‑range submarines.’
Virginia-class nuclear submarines, such as those to be procured by Australia under AUKUS are considered long-range.
Unlike Australia’s existing diesel-powered subs, nuclear submarines generate their own energy and are therefore capable of travelling further while evading detection in deeper waters.
