Australia is confident its wide-ranging security agreement with the U.S. and U.K. will push ahead despite a Pentagon review, people familiar with the matter said, with Canberra recently announcing at least $9 billion in related defense investments.
The Trump administration’s review of the AUKUS agreement, which was revealed in June, is focused mainly on reinforcing the pact rather than unraveling it, according to the sources, who asked not to be identified discussing internal deliberations.
Australia’s announcement over the weekend — that it will spend $8 billion on a related defense hub to build naval ships and service submarines and $1.1 billion on an underwater drone program — underscore Canberra’s commitment to the endeavor, and particularly its willingness to boost defense spending.
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