Overview

• US Defence Undersecretary Elbridge Colby’s assessment, launched in June, has already surpassed its initial 30-day timeframe with no public deadline.
• Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has rejected demands for a guarantee on submarine deployments and emphasized Australia’s sovereign decision-making.
• UK envoy Sir Stephen Lovegrove affirmed that the US Navy and State Department remain fully committed to the trilateral submarine and infrastructure programmes.
• Senators Marco Rubio and Mitch McConnell characterized the review as a routine audit and criticized isolationist influences within the Trump administration.
• Australia has pledged over A$120 million to upgrade Henderson shipyard and invested billions to expand US Virginia-class submarine production capacity.