【By Observer Network, Xiong Chaoyi】Local time on June 11, the Financial Times reported that up to six informed sources said that U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Elbridge Colby is leading a review and assessment of the "Australia-United Kingdom-United States Security Partnership" (AUKUS) cooperation project to determine whether the United States should abandon the project. Previously, Colby had expressed doubts about AUKUS, and now this news has caused anxiety in both the UK and Australia.
Subsequently, the U.S. Department of Defense spokesperson also sent out a statement to multiple media outlets confirming that the Pentagon is reviewing the AUKUS project to ensure that this initiative from the previous Biden administration aligns with President Trump's "America First" agenda. The statement reads: "As Secretary Hegseth clearly pointed out, this means ensuring that our military personnel maintain the highest level of readiness, ensuring allies fully contribute to collective defense efforts, and ensuring that the defense industrial base meets our needs. This review will ensure that the project complies with these commonsense 'America First' standards."
When AUKUS was first established in 2021, foreign media analyzed that this plan was "targeted at China." Now, Reuters also claims that "AUKUS aims to address growing concerns over Chinese power." Indeed, someone has spoken out.
Senior Democrat Jeanne Shaheen of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, through the Financial Times, claimed that the news of the U.S. withdrawing from AUKUS will surely elicit "cheers" from China, which she says is already celebrating America's retreat on a global scale and the strained relations with allies under Trump's leadership.
"Canceling this partnership will further tarnish America's reputation and raise more questions about our reliability among our closest defense partners," she continued to hype up the situation. "At a time when we face growing threats from China and Russia, we should encourage our partners to increase defense spending and collaborate with them on the latest technologies, rather than doing the opposite."
Meanwhile, Tim Kaine, a Democrat on the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee, claimed that AUKUS is crucial for ensuring "freedom and openness" in the Indo-Pacific region, and that the U.S. should strive to strengthen AUKUS and the submarine industrial base. "Any inaction would play right into China's hands," he stated.
Elbridge Colby, file photo
Elbridge Colby, who is currently the "number three" person at the Pentagon as the Deputy Secretary of Defense for Policy, led this review and assessment. Among Trump's senior policy officials, some had openly expressed doubts about the AUKUS plan, including Colby.
As early as last year, Colby had warned that submarines are a rare key product, and that the U.S. industry cannot produce enough submarines to meet its own needs. "What I worry about is why we would give up this valuable asset at such a critical time?"
In March this year, during his nomination confirmation hearing before the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee, Colby adopted a more open attitude towards AUKUS. He stated that "exerting every effort to ensure the project proceeds smoothly should be the policy of the U.S. government." However, he still expressed concerns that selling submarines to Australia or using U.S. shipyards to help build submarines might put the U.S. Navy at a disadvantage because Australia would not participate in the development of U.S. submarines.
An informed source said that it remains unclear whether this is Colby's independent action or part of a broader effort by the Trump administration. The source indicated: "There is a general tendency to lean toward the former view externally, but this uncertainty has confused the U.S. Congress, other government departments, and Australia."
Several informed sources said that the review and assessment work is expected to take 30 days, but the Pentagon spokesperson refused to comment on the timeline and said: "Any change in the U.S. government's approach to AUKUS will be communicated through official channels at the appropriate time."
File photo: The first Virginia-class nuclear submarine returning to Electric Boat Shipyard in Groton, Connecticut, USA on July 30, 2004. CNN
Reuters reported that the U.S. review and assessment not only caused panic in Australia but may also impact the UK's defense planning. The AUKUS submarine program worth billions of dollars is at the heart of the UK's submarine fleet expansion plan.
An informed source familiar with the AUKUS issue also told the Financial Times that Australia and the UK are "very anxious" about the review and assessment of AUKUS.
The spokesperson for Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Marles said that the U.S. has informed Australia and the UK about the review matters. The spokesperson stated: "AUKUS will promote the development of U.S. and Australian defense industries and create thousands of new manufacturing jobs."
The UK government spokesperson then said that AUKUS is "one of the most strategically significant partnerships in decades" and "creates job opportunities and economic growth for communities across the three countries." The spokesperson said: "(The) new U.S. administration wants to re-examine its approach to this important partnership, which is understandable, just as the UK did last year." He also added that the UK will "continue to work closely with the U.S. and Australia... to maximize the benefits and opportunities of AUKUS."
Reuters cited John Lee, an expert at the conservative Hudson Institute in the U.S., who said that the Pentagon's review aims to determine whether it has the capability to sell up to five submarines while achieving its own production goals.
Katherine Paik, who was a Biden administration official and now works at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), believes that providing submarines to Australia will not sacrifice U.S. combat readiness but will enhance collective deterrence. "This review will undoubtedly cause concern among allies in Canberra and London and may lead them to question the reliability of the U.S. as an ally and partner," she stated.
Politico News also pointed out that the review of the AUKUS plan has drawn dissatisfaction from Democratic members of Congress, particularly those in the eastern U.S., where some of the largest shipyards are located.
Kurt Campbell, the former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State during the Biden administration and considered the "U.S. designer" of AUKUS, emphasized the importance of Australia having nuclear submarines last year. On one occasion, he even "rarely" linked Taiwan with AUKUS, stating that the U.S.-UK-Australia AUKUS submarine project "will strengthen peace and stability, including in the Taiwan Strait." Campbell told the Financial Times: "AUKUS is the most important military and strategic cooperation between the U.S., Australia, and the UK in generations." He said: "Efforts to strengthen coordination, defense spending, and shared objectives should be welcomed, and any bureaucratic effort to undermine AUKUS would lead to a trust crisis among our closest security and political partners." Meanwhile, the Pentagon is also urging Australia to increase defense spending. Local time on June 1, according to a statement released by the U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Defense Secretary Higseth met with Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Mars in Singapore to discuss key priorities of the U.S.-Australia alliance. Higseth stated during the meeting that Australia should quickly increase its defense spending to 3.5% of GDP. Australia is not a NATO member, but Trump previously urged NATO members to increase their military spending, recently emphasizing raising it to 5% of GDP. In September 2021, the U.S., the U.K., and Australia announced the establishment of the "AUKUS" military alliance without informing France and the EU. As a demonstration project of the alliance, the U.S. and the U.K. would provide nuclear submarine technology to Australia to help form a nuclear submarine fleet. Australia thus tore up its multi-billion-dollar conventional submarine procurement agreement with France. France expressed strong dissatisfaction and recalled its ambassadors to the U.S. and Australia. In November 2021, the U.S., the U.K., and Australia formally signed the Naval Nuclear Power Information Exchange Agreement, laying the groundwork for sharing nuclear submarine secrets. If the cooperation is ultimately finalized, Australia will become the seventh country to possess nuclear-powered submarines. Bloomberg analysis suggests that this move aims to "counterbalance China's military growth in the Pacific." On March 13, 2023, former U.S. President Biden met with former British Prime Minister Sunak and Australian Prime Minister Albanese at the U.S. naval base in San Diego, California, to discuss the so-called "Australia-United Kingdom-United States Security Partnership" (AUKUS) and officially unveiled the plan to equip Australia with nuclear submarines. According to the plan, starting in the early 2030s, the U.S. will sell three Virginia-class nuclear submarines to Australia, with the possibility of adding two more in the future. At the same time, the U.S., the U.K., and Australia will cooperate on the development of new nuclear submarines, enabling the U.K. and Australia to be equipped respectively in the late 2030s and early 2040s. The entire plan is expected to be completed by 2055, with a cost of $245 billion. According to the agreement, the U.S. and the U.K. will also deploy submarines in Western Australia to help train Australian personnel, with the earliest deployment beginning in 2027. Biden emphasized at the time that although these submarines are nuclear-powered, they will not be armed with nuclear weapons. However, some "political analysts" at the time encouraged the three countries to advance the second phase of the plan, which involves hypersonic weapons and other faster-deployable armaments. Previously, the insistence of the U.S., the U.K., and Australia on advancing nuclear submarine cooperation has raised increasing concerns in the international community. Former Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating bluntly stated that Australia should withdraw from AUKUS. The groups and small circles constructed by the U.S. to serve its "Indo-Pacific strategy" are not beneficial to Australia. If the Australian government continues to promote this relationship, "it will be a tragedy for Australia." He also pointed out that the procurement plan for U.S. and British nuclear submarines should be abandoned as soon as possible. The nuclear submarine cooperation does not meet any of Australia's military defense needs; this cooperation serves U.S. interests entirely and will greatly increase the risk of military conflict with China. Previously, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning responded by saying that regarding the nuclear submarine cooperation between the U.S., the U.K., and Australia, China has repeatedly expressed its firm position. The cooperation constitutes a serious nuclear proliferation risk, undermines the international non-proliferation system, stimulates arms races, and disrupts peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region. It has been widely questioned and opposed by regional countries and the international community. We urge the U.S., the U.K., and Australia to abandon Cold War thinking and zero-sum games, faithfully fulfill their international obligations, and do more to benefit regional peace and stability. This article is an exclusive contribution by the Observer Network and unauthorized reproduction is prohibited. 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