President Donald Trump clearly approved of the trilateral AUKUS agreement Monday and even indicated the U.S. would expedite the sale and delivery of three to five nuclear-powered attack submarines.
Trump’s remarks came as he appeared next to Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to sign a bilateral agreement on critical mineral mining.
When Trump was asked if the AUKUS submarine sales deal is still viable given submarine production issues, he responded “we do actually have a lot of submarines, we have the best submarines anywhere in the world and we’re building a few more currently under construction.”
“And now we’re starting – we have it all set with Anthony – We’ve worked on this long and hard and we’re starting that process right now, and I think it’s moving along very rapidly, very well,” Trump added.
When asked if the administration would expedite the plan to sell three to five Virginia-class nuclear-powered attack submarines (SSNs) to Australia, set to occur in the 2030s, Trump said, “We are doing that, yeah. We have them moving very, very quickly.”
Asked by Trump to comment during the event, Secretary of the Navy John Phelan alluded to the current Defense Department review of AUKUS, spearheaded by Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby over the summer.
Phelan said, “I think what we’re trying to do is take the original AUKUS framework and improve it for all three parties and make it better and clarify some ambiguity that was in the prior agreements. So it should be a win-win for everybody.”
When asked by reporters about Phelan’s notes on previous AUKUS ambiguities, Trump said the Navy secretary would take care of those details.
Trump also expressed some confidence in Australia’s overall defense investments. “Well, I’d always like more, but they have to do what they have to do. You know, you can only do so much. I think they’ve been great,” he said.
A fact sheet released by the White House concurrent with Monday’s event noted beyond critical mineral issues, the two countries are deepening defense cooperation.
Exchange Monitor affiliate Defense Daily first published a version of this article.