Albanese brushes off concern after Donald Trump’s AUKUS sceptic delays Pentagon review of pact

Anthony Albanese has brushed off concern the AUKUS pact is in jeopardy after the US announced it would delay the review of the $368 billion deal until later this year.

In the first official US-issued statement on the Pentagon’s review into the submarine deal, Under Secretary Elbridge Colby said the review was expected to be completed in the American fall — September or November in Australia.

Mr Colby’s office stated that the probe which was initiated by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth would assess if the tri-lateral defence agreement with Australia and Britain aligned with the US President’s America-centric agenda.

“This review will be a department-wide process, led by the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy,” his office said on Wednesday.

“It will be an empirical and clear-eyed assessment of the initiative’s alignment with President Trump’s America First approach.

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

“The Department anticipates completing the review in the fall.”

Initial reporting of the Pentagon review in June had claimed it would be a 30-day exercise. It was not announced via public statement but rather from sources within the administration.

Mr Albanese told reporters in Canberra on Wednesday he was not concerned or surprised by the delay.

“It’s not surprising that that would be the case,” he said.

“(It’s) something that we expected. We expected a review from an incoming government just like the Keir Starmer government did.

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

United States Studies Centre director of research Jared Mondschein said the statement on Wednesday finally gave Australia clarity on who had initiated the review.

“Now it seems like we do have more clarity. Nonetheless, there’s still obviously some questions about Australia’s capability gap, and whether Australia is fully prepared for all contingencies in the near and medium term, instead of just the long term,” he said.

“But it’s hard to look at AUKUS and not see it as being in US interests.”

With the outcome of the review now more likely later in the year, the timing could prove helpful for the PM if he could secure a prior face-to-face with Mr Trump.

After his planned meeting on the sideline of the G7 in Canada was canned by the US President in June, the PM could now secure one in Washington around the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York in September.

Mr Mondschein however said securing a constructive meeting with Mr Trump was more important than the timing of it for Mr Albanese.

“As unconventional as this administration can be in many ways, it also provides some uniquely unconventional opportunities and I don’t think Australia wants to be missing from those conversations,” he said.

“On the whole it would be constructive to have that bilateral meeting between the Prime Minister and the President.

“I think the US relationship shapes every Australian Government.

“The US relationship is foundational to Australia’s national security and foreign policy,

“The US and Australian relationship is wider, broader and deeper than any two leaders.

“I don’t think that the US alliance is defined by Donald Trump, in the same way that it was not defined by Barack Obama or George W.Bush.

“This is just the latest US administration that Australia is engaging with.”