Albanese pushing case for AUKUS with ‘everyone’ in US amid Pentagon review

Anthony Albanese says his government is engaging “with everyone in the United States”, with Australian ministers pushing the case at every opportunity to keep the AUKUS defence pact on track amid a snap review by the Pentagon.

But the message from WA Premier Roger Cook after talking about the trilateral defence deal with UK partners is there’s more confidence in Westminster than Canberra about the Washington review.

The Federal Government sees shoring up the defence ties and submarine deal vital for Australia’s security and stability in the Indo-Pacific as a top order issue in the relationship with the US, with trade discussions taking lower priority for now.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong will raise all these issues when she meets her US counterpart Marco Rubio in Washington this week, on the sidelines of the Quad ministerial meeting that also involves Japan and India.

The Opposition wants her to also secure an invitation for the Prime Minister to visit.

“There’s obviously a problem with the Prime Minister and the President of the United States in terms of getting that face-to-face meeting, and that needs to be a priority,” Opposition frontbencher Maria Kovacic said.

Mr Albanese has said he’s planning to meet US President Donald Trump as soon as possible, although the dates are yet to be locked in.

He hinted on Monday afternoon that it could be on the sidelines of the Quad leaders meeting, if that comes before the Prime Minister’s planned trip to the US for high-level UN meetings in September.

“I’d be prepared, of course, to meet with President Trump when a suitable time can be organised,” he told ABC TV.

“I think where the meeting takes place is less important than what comes out of the meeting.”

Mr Albanese is also expected to travel to China in July for annual leader-level talks.

The US has made it clear it expects its allies, including Australia, to significantly boost defence spending, with the Trump administration nominating a target level of 3.5 per cent of GDP.

There are fears in some quarters the 30-day AUKUS review, being run by Pentagon official Elbridge Colby, will give the administration leverage to lean even more heavily on Australia to lift spending.

Mr Albanese said his government had made representations to the US administration broadly, including between Defence ministers Richard Marles and Pete Hegseth, about the importance of the AUKUS pact.

“At every opportunity, Australia raises our points that we have … AUKUS benefits three countries, Australia, the UK and the US, but it does something more than that as well. It benefits the world, because it makes our region and the world more secure,” he said.

Asked whether that included directly engaging with Mr Colby, the Prime Minister said repeatedly: “We engage with everyone in the United States.”

China’s ambassador Xiao Qian warned in an opinion piece published in The Australian on Monday that “dramatically increasing military spending places a heavy fiscal burden on the countries involved” and would undermine efforts to boost economic growth.

Mr Albanese said the ambassador clearly spoke for China but his job was to speak for Australia.

Premier Roger Cook, freshly returned from a trip to the UK talking about AUKUS and defence industry, said he remained confident the “great trilateral relationship … remains steady and on track”.

The UK conducted its own review of AUKUS earlier in the year and concluded it was worth continuing.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has also promised to add 12 new submarines to the UK’s already planned fleet.

“What was clear from the UK is that they have a great deal of confidence in relation to the outcome of the US review,” Mr Cook said.

“I think it’s fair to say that they were much more confident than perhaps you’ve seen it speculated in Australia.

His Defence Industries Minister Paul Papalia said they hadn’t encountered any concern that the Trump administration wasn’t committed to AUKUS.

“I anticipate that if they do a review, they will identify that it’s a really good deal for America. It’s a great deal for Australia and the UK, but it’s a very good deal for America,” he said.

Australia was offering the US a “safe haven” strategic forward operating base that meant they could keep more submarines in the Indo-Pacific than otherwise plus an additional industrial base for submarine maintenance and potentially construction, the minister said.

“And of course, we’ve got enormous reserves of rare earths and critical minerals which can be refined here and break the monopoly that’s held by China,” he said.

As well as the defence issues, Australia has also been seeking to remove the 10 per cent “base” tariff Mr Trump has imposed on all imports, along with the 50 per cent impost on steel and aluminium.

The so-called reciprocal tariffs will come into effect on July 9, after Mr Trump’s 90-day pause on their imposition ends.

“We’ll continue to put our case forward that it shouldn’t be 10, it should be zero. That is what a reciprocal tariff would be,” Mr Albanese said.

“We have a US free trade agreement, of course, and we’ve put forward very clearly our arguments. We’ll continue to do so.”

However, The West understands the government is prioritising the defence issues in its dealings with the US on the basis it doesn’t appear Mr Trump will drop below 10 per cent for any country.

Australia made compromises when it struck the US free trade agreement 20 years ago and there is little appetite to give up more if it’s not in the nation’s best interests.