The US is viewed as a less reliable and more demanding ally under Donald Trump’s second term, yet Australia should persist with the AUKUS submarine deal despite associated risks and growing political and military concerns, according to former ambassador Dennis Richardson.

Richardson, a former secretary of both the defense and foreign affairs departments, a former ASIO chief, and a former ambassador to the US, is conducting a thorough review of the Australian Submarine Agency amid emerging concerns over the management of the AUKUS submarine agreement. He argued that abandoning the $368 billion AUKUS agreement would signal that “we have learned nothing.”

Under the first pillar of the AUKUS agreement, the US will sell Australia Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarines, with the first delivery slated for 2032. However, there are concerns about the US’s ability to fulfill this obligation due to its submarine fleet numbers being a quarter below their target.

Richardson acknowledges there are inherent risks in any program the size of AUKUS but believes reversing the decision four years into the deal will only set Australia back and compromise its defenses. He argues that nuclear submarines are in Australia’s national security interest, as they are deemed the best submarines to acquire for increasingly demanding environments.

Opening the forum, former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull stated that Australia’s relationship with the US has been irrevocably altered by the new Trump administration, warning against being blind to the reality that the president’s political values align more closely with those of Putin than his modern predecessors.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/mar/31/dennis-richardson-australia-aukus-submarine-deal-us-former-defence-chief