The US Navy’s highest-ranking officer has reaffirmed her nation’s commitment to AUKUS, regardless of who is in the White House.
As she visited the HMAS Stirling naval base alongside her Australian and UK counterparts for the first time, Admiral Lisa Franchetti said the US would be there for its partners when it matters, where it matters.
As part of the AUKUS plan, US and UK nuclear submarines will rotate through HMAS Stirling, located on Garden Island south of Perth, before the site houses Australia’s own nuclear submarine fleet.
But growing expectations of a second Donald Trump presidency and delays in the US submarine supply chain have fuelled concerns that Australia’s military partners may not follow through on their commitment.
Betting markets have Trump odds on to beat Democratic Vice-President Kamala Harris at the November poll, which could usher in a return to isolationist policies, after the 78-year-old withdrew the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership in his first term in office.
But Admiral Franchetti hosed down those concerns.
“Regardless of who is in our political parties and whatever is happening in that space, it’s allies and partners that are always our priority,” she told reporters on Tuesday.
“I am committed to delivering our part of AUKUS and really working with my teammates every day to make sure that … we meet those key milestones to deliver AUKUS for our nations today, tomorrow and far into the future.
“I know that all of our partners know that we are going to be there for them when it matters, where it matters, and that’s what we deliver every single day.”
While Trump has once again indicated an America-first focus, the United States Studies Centre’s research director Jared Mondschein said AUKUS is not under threat.
“It is Australia spending more money to do more of the burden-sharing in Asia, standing up to regional powers like China, and giving the US billions of dollars to expand the US defence industrial capacity,” he told AAP.
Australia’s navy chief, Vice Admiral Mark Hammond, was confident works to ready the base were progressing as planned.
“From what I’ve seen today and what what we’ve been discussing this morning, HMAS Stirling is almost ready to go now,” he said.
“If we had to mobilise this base to support nuclear powered submarines from Stirling tomorrow, all of the key building blocks are already in place. So I’m really confident that we will meet the timeline of the optimal pathway.”
Meanwhile, the recently-elected Labour government has reaffirmed the UK’s commitment to AUKUS, with Defence Secretary John Healey saying the alliance is “fundamental” to the nation’s future security.