Australia Rejects U.S. Push for Advance War Commitments Over Taiwan

Although the review was initially described as a 30-day process, no public findings have been released. Guardian Australia reports that Labor insiders do not expect a resolution for several months.

Some U.S. officials have reportedly linked Australia’s access to Virginia-class submarines with its alignment on Indo-Pacific strategy. Conroy dismissed these concerns, stressing that Australia will act in its national interest and keep discussions confidential.

“Let’s see what the U.S. review finds. I’m confident it will support AUKUS, as both our own and the UK’s reviews did,” he said.

The review could affect timelines and costs for acquiring several older U.S. submarines as an interim measure before new vessels are built in Australia. Conroy declined to speculate on whether a potential future Trump administration might demand additional payments from Canberra.

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Penny Wong met with her Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, at the ASEAN summit in Malaysia, raising concerns over Beijing’s naval activities near Australia, human rights issues in Xinjiang, Tibet and Hong Kong, and the ongoing detention of Australian citizen Dr Yang Hengjun.

Albanese, currently on a six-day visit to China, is holding talks with President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang, aimed at promoting Australia’s economic and security interests.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers described the Australia-China relationship as “full of opportunity but not short of complexity.”