Australia could be forced to re-pitch its case for the AUKUS security pact to the US as critics seize on the Trump administration’s month-long review to call for the plan to be dumped.

The Pentagon will examine whether the pact is in line with US President Donald Trump’s “America first” policy amid concerns in Washington the deal could leave the nation short of submarines.

Under the agreement, Australia is to acquire three nuclear-powered Virginia-class submarines from the US in the early 2030s before a fleet of boats is built for delivery from the 2040s for $368 billion.

The three-nation deal was signed between the US, Australia and the UK in 2021 under former prime minister Scott Morrison and the Biden administration.

Morrison said the US defence department was “well within its remit” to launch the review and it was not unlike the re-assessment in Britain after the election of Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

“Now is the time for Australia to make the case again,” he said.

“We have a good case to make in both our own interests and those of our AUKUS partners, especially in the US.”

The US AUKUS review is Departmental and akin to the UK’s post-election assessment by Starmer Govt. It deals with the known issue of boosting US sub production, a challenge Australia is already helping to solve under AUKUS. Full statement: https://t.co/nVvGXoAznD pic.twitter.com/Ut3yxB5hiZ

— Scott Morrison (@ScoMo30) June 12, 2025

Defence Minister Richard Marles confirmed the Albanese government had known of the review for weeks. He said he was confident AUKUS would go ahead.

Asked if there was a “plan B” if the agreement was torn up, he said Australia needed to stick with the existing deal to acquire nuclear submarines.

“Chopping and changing guarantees you will never have the capability … there is a plan here, we are sticking to it and we’re going to deliver it,” Marles told ABC Radio.

But former Labor prime minister Paul Keating, a strong AUKUS critic, said the review might be the moment “Washington saves Australia from itself”.

Former Liberal prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, who has also criticised the pact, said Australia should follow in the footsteps of the UK and US and conduct a review.

“Our parliament to date has been the least curious and least informed,” Turnbull wrote on X. “Time to wake up?”

The UK is conducting a review of AUKUS. The US DoD is conducting a review of AUKUS. But Australia, which has the most at stake, has no review. Our Parliament to date has been the least curious and least informed. Time to wake up?

— Malcolm Turnbull (@TurnbullMalcolm) June 11, 2025

Greens defence spokesman David Shoebridge said it was time for the government to open an inquiry into the “dud deal”.

“We need an independent defence and foreign policy, that does not require us to bend our will and shovel wealth to an increasingly erratic and reckless Trump USA,” Shoebridge said.

However, opposition defence spokesman Angus Taylor said if AUKUS fell over, all nations would pay a heavy price.

Taylor said Australia should know the terms of reference of the review, and questioned if Labor would be prepared to increase defence funding to support AUKUS if that was one of its outcomes.

He also queried if the government’s position on sanctioning two Israeli ministers had contributed to the review’s timing.

“The Coalition stands ready to work with Labor to make sure that AUKUS is a success… we need a strong ability and capability in this country to defend ourselves at a time, as the Prime Minister has put it, that is more dangerous than at any time since the Second World War.”

Critics of AUKUS point to the lagging production of boats in the US and have warned the deal might jeopardise the US Navy’s capabilities.

Australia handed over almost $800 million to the US in February – the first of several payments – to help boost its submarine production.

The 2025 Lowy Institute Poll, to be released in full on Monday, found two-thirds of Australians either somewhat or strongly backed acquiring nuclear-powered submarines.

Executive director Michael Fullilove said the government should ensure the Trump administration understood the agreement was also in America’s national interest.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is yet to confirm a meeting with Trump on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Canada.

Australian National University naval studies expert Jennifer Parker said the nation should use the opportunity to restate its position.

“It would be hard to make an argument that it is in the US interest to fundamentally change or cancel AUKUS,” she said.

“Our think-tank ecosystem and media can be quite alarmist on this issue … we have agency, we have autonomy, we’re a player in this and we need to continue to highlight how important we are to them.”

Co-chair of the Friends of Australia Caucus, US Congressman Joe Courtney, on Thursday warned against dumping the AUKUS deal.

“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,” he said.

“[It] is a direct contradiction to the administration’s ‘America first, but not alone’ goal of countering aggression from China, Russia, and other adversaries.”

Opposition frontbencher Bridget McKenzie said the US review was a “deeply concerning development” ahead of Albanese’s departure for Canada on Sunday.

“Any undermining of this serious and substantial alliance between our two countries should be of grave concern to all of us,” McKenzie told Nine’s Today show.

-AAP