Trump administration launches review of Biden-era Aukus defence agreement

President Donald Trump's administration has launched a formal review of a defence pact that former president Joe Biden made with Australia and the United Kingdom allowing Australia to acquire conventionally armed nuclear submarines, a US defence official said.

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Australia, which sees the submarines as critical to its own defence as tensions grow over China's expansive military build-up, said it remained committed to the project and looked forward to working closely with the US on the review.

As well as causing alarm in Australia, the review could throw a spanner in the works for Britain's defence planning. The Aukus pact, worth hundreds of billions of dollars, is at the centre of a planned expansion of Britain's submarine fleet.

"We are reviewing Aukus as part of ensuring that this initiative of the previous administration is aligned with the President's America First agenda," the official said of the review.

"Any changes to the administration's approach for Aukus will be communicated through official channels, when appropriate."

Aukus was formed in 2021 to address shared worries about China's growing power. It envisages Australia acquiring up to five US Virginia-class submarines from 2032.

Then Britain and Australia would design and build a new class of submarine with US assistance.

The UK would take first delivery in the late 2030s, with delivery to Australia in the early 2040s.

Before that, the US and Britain would start forward rotations of their submarines in 2027 out of an Australian naval base in Western Australia.

Vocal sceptics among Mr Trump's senior policy officials include Mr Elbridge Colby, the Pentagon's top policy adviser, who cautioned in 2024 that submarines were a scarce, critical commodity, and US industry could not produce enough to meet American demand.