Aukus deal’s importance ‘well understood’ by Trump administration, Penny Wong says – but no iron-clad guarantee given
After meeting Marco Rubio at Quad gathering in Washington, foreign affairs minister says Australia could benefit from demand for critical minerals
The strategic importance of the Aukus agreement is “well understood” by the Trump administration, Penny Wong says, despite a snap Pentagon review casting doubt on the future of the pact.
In Washington DC for talks with Quad nations foreign ministers on Wednesday, Australia’s foreign affairs minister said the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, had heard Australia’s position on the need for the agreement to proceed, though she did not receive any iron-clad assurances from her counterpart.
The Aukus deal outlines the sharing of nuclear-powered submarine technology between Australia, the US and the UK at a cost of about A$350bn. The federal government has already made payments worth A$800m.
Despite the review being led by an Aukus sceptic and US undersecretary of defense, Elbridge Colby, Wong said she remained confident the partnership would “last decades”.
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