US lawmakers decry Pentagon AUKUS review as naval leaders tout agreement before Congress

US attack submarine USS North Carolina (pictured here) calls at an Australian port shortly after the AUKUS deal is reached. The joint submarine programme is now under Pentagon review. (US Navy)

US lawmakers criticised a Department of Defense review acknowledged by the Pentagon on 11 June of the joint submarine programme of Australia, the UK, and the US under the AUKUS agreement – on the same day US naval leaders were touting the agreement.

Responding to Pentagon acknowledgement that is reviewing AUKUS to ensure it aligns with President Donald Trump's America First Agenda, Congressman Joe Courtney of Connecticut released a statement saying, “The new administration certainly has the right to review the trilateral AUKUS mission, but as the recent UK government's defence review determined, this is a defence alliance that is overwhelmingly in the best interest of all three AUKUS nations, as well as the Indo-Pacific region as a whole.”

Courtney said, “To abandon AUKUS – which is already well under way – would cause lasting harm to our nation's standing with close allies and certainly be met with great rejoicing in Beijing.”

Noting that AUKUS provides USD3 billion in foreign investments from Australia into the US, Courtney also said, “To walk away from all the sunk costs invested by our two closest allies – Australia and the United Kingdom – will have far-reaching ramifications on our trustworthiness on the global stage and is a direct contradiction to the administration's ‘America First, but not alone' goal of countering aggression from China, Russia, and other adversaries.”