The Pentagon assesses the Aukus security pact between Australia, the US and the UK.
The assessment is designed to ensure that the Pact is in line with the “America First” agenda of President Donald Trump, an American defense officer told the ABC.
They said, “If [Defense] Secretary [Pete] Hegseeth has made it clear, this means that the highest readiness of our service members, that allies fully perform to do their part in collective defense and that the industrial basis of the defense meets our needs. “
It follows Mr. Hegseeth’s requirement that Australia increase the expenditure of defense to 3.5 percent of GDP.
Under the Aukus-Pact, Australia would be armed with nuclear powered submarines for an amount of more than $ 350 billion.
Elbridge Colby, the Minister of Defense for Policy that has spoken in Scepsis about Aukus, leads the assessment, according to the VK Financial times. The ABC tried to reach Mr. Colby for comment.
Earlier this year, the Australian government paid nearly $ 800 million – the first in a series of payments to help America improve its submarine production possibilities.
The deal was signed in 2021, when Australia ended an earlier deal to buy submarines from France.
It enjoyed two -part support in all three countries, but Mr. Trump has said little publicly about the pact, and his criticism of the traditional alliances of America have fed fears in Canberra and London.
When a reporter asked Mr Trump for Aukus in February, he seemed to be unknown with the term and replied, “What does that mean?”
The Australian embassy in Washington refused to comment on contact by the ABC.
The ABC has reached the Trump government for comment.
The British government is also contacted for comment.
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