The Aukus submarine deal will proceed as planned after reportedly surviving the Pentagon’s review of the security pact.
The Japan-based Nikkei Asia reported the Trump administration would retain the original timeline for the $368bn program, which includes the US selling three Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarines to Australia from 2032.
A US war Department official would not confirm the report when contacted by Guardian Australia.
“The Aukus initiative is still under review. We have no further Aukus updates to announce at this time,” the official said.
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The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, acknowledged the review was still under way but was confident Aukus had the support of the US and the UK – the third partner in the pact.
“We know that Aukus is in the interests of Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States,” Albanese said from Abu Dhabi, the last stop in an overseas trip that has included visits to the two Aukus allies.
“It is about a partnership which is in the interest of all three nations which will make peace and security in our region so much stronger.”
The review will be wrapped up before Albanese’s first scheduled face-to-face meeting with Donald Trump in the US on 20 October, Nikkei Asia reported.
The future of Aukus has been under a cloud since the Pentagon launched an appraisal of the deal to determine if it aligned with Trump’s “America-first” agenda.
The review has been conducted by the US under secretary of war for policy, Elbridge Colby, who has previously expressed scepticism about any deal that could weaken the US navy.
One of the most significant concerns over Aukus in the US is its capacity to spare any nuclear-powered submarines to sell to Australia as it struggles to build enough for its own needs.
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There has also been speculation the US has wanted clarity from Australia about how it respond in a potential US-China war over Taiwan.
The federal government has already handed over $1.6bn to the US to support America’s shipbuilding capacity, with delivery of the first Virginia-class submarines to Australia in the early 2030s contingent on the US ramping up production.
Australia’s government has never publicly expressed concern about the Pentagon review, arguing that it was standard procedure for a new administration to examine such an agreement, just as the UK did after a change of government.
Earlier on Tuesday, Australia’s defence minister, Richard Marles, would not pre-empt the outcome of the Pentagon review but again expressed confidence that the deal was secure.
“Aukus is happening – that’s not in question,” the acting prime minister told ABC Melbourne on Tuesday morning.
“We’re very confident about the deal and we’ve been saying that all the way through, as we have also been saying that we welcome this review and will participate in it,” Marles said on Tuesday.
“I’ve repeatedly said Aukus is going well; Aukus is happening at a pace; it is meeting all the milestones that it’s meant to be meeting and we are confident about this being the pathway for Australia acquiring its future submarine capability.”
The US has also been pushing Australia to raise its overall defence spending to 3.5% of GDP, up from its current level of roughly 2%.
Albanese has publicly resisted that pressure, insisting Australia will determine the nature and volume of its military spending.
The federal government has made several new defence spending commitments while the review was under way, including $12bn to upgrade a Western Australian shipyard that will be used by the Aukus submarines.
Albanese and Marles have confirmed the US navy will be able to use the Henderson defence precinct to dock and maintain its own ships.
