Australia insists Aukus nuclear-powered submarines ‘going to happen’ despite fears about costs, potential Trump return

Under the fledgling Aukus deal, the three long-time allies have pledged to jointly strengthen their military muscle in a bid to counter China’s rise.

“The three governments involved here are working at pace to make this happen,” Australian defence minister Richard Marles told reporters on Friday.

“This is going to happen and we need it to happen,” he added.

Barely two years old, there are already signs that Aukus and its central project could be under threat.

Some fear Trump could jettison the pact if he wins this year’s presidential election, returning to his “America first” style of foreign policy.

With potential flashpoints emerging across the globe, and China taking an increasingly aggressive stance in the Taiwan Strait, visiting UK defence minister Grant Shapps said Aukus was as crucial as ever.

After decades of relative peace, Shapps said the planet was slowly shifting from a “post-war” era to a “pre-war” footing.

“We are living in more dangerous times,” he said during a tour of the Osborne Naval Shipyard in South Australia.

UK defence contractor BAE Systems has been enlisted to help construct Australia’s fleet of nuclear-propelled submarines.

Australia hopes to have eight nuclear-powered vessels in the water by the 2050s – a mix of the new Aukus-class subs built at home and in the UK, and Virgina-class vessels bought from the United States.

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Marles said a “drumbeat” of Aukus-class submarines would then continue to roll off Australian production lines “every few years” in perpetuity.

“There is no country in the world which has obtained the capability to build nuclear-powered submarines, which has then turned that capability off,” he said.

“We