SYDNEY: Australia Defense MInister Richard Marles said on Wednesday Canberra is confident a re-elected Donald Trump will back the AUKUS security alliance and associated nuclear submarine sales after talks with his camp.
\nThe possibility of a Trump victory in the November presidential election has US allies around the world scrambling to divine and prepare for his diplomatic agenda, including his take on the A$368 billion ($243 billion) AUKUS deal to help Australia acquire nuclear powered submarines and deter China in the Pacific.
\nThe deal includes the sale of three to five US nuclear-powered Virginia Class submarines in the 2030s, a time when the US fleet will shrink to a historic low. Some fear Trump\u2019s America First stance could hew to voices in Congress who want the submarines reserved for the US navy instead.
\nBut conversations with the Trump camp had given Australia confidence he would honor the deal should he win the presidency again, Marles said in an interview on Sky News.
\n\u201cEvery engagement we\u2019ve had with the Trump camp in the normal process of speaking with people on both sides of politics in America, there is support for what is playing out in relation to AUKUS,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cWe do have a sense of confidence, irrespective of what occurs in November of this year, we can firstly look forward to the alliance being as strong as ever and secondly that the equities that we have in that alliance, AUKUS front and center, will be maintained\u201c
\nMarles also pointed to the passage of AUKUS legislation last December, which he said was supported by Republicans, including those associated with Trump.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
SYDNEY: Australia Defense MInister Richard Marles said on Wednesday Canberra is confident a re-elected Donald Trump will back the AUKUS security alliance and associated nuclear submarine sales after talks with his camp. The possibility of a Trump victory in the November presidential election has US allies around the world scrambling to divine and prepare for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":420324,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-420319","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n