AUKUS update: Australian sovereignty is “paramount” as Trump declares “full steam ahead”
Australia is set to receive up to five Virginia-class submarines from the US under the AUKUS agreement. Pictured is the Virginia-class USS Texas, commissioned for the US Navy in 2006. (Photo: US Navy)
AUKUS has been under the spotlight this week as US President Donald Trump and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had their first face-to-face meeting.
The AUKUS tripartite agreement between Australia, the UK and the US seemed to be on firmer ground this week after US President Donald Trump announced it was “full steam ahead” in his White House meeting with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
While the three-way submarine partnership was never off the table, it had been called into question in recent months after the US government announced it would review the agreement back in June, the conclusion of which is yet to be drawn.
The US’s review was intended to ensure that the initiative, which was signed under the previous administration, “aligned
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