By David Brunnstrom
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Britain’s special representative for the AUKUS defense project, Sir Stephen Lovegrove, has been briefing U.S. officials in Washington this week about a review of the project he presented to the British government this year, a British official said on Thursday.
The AUKUS defense partnership was formed in 2021 by Australia, the United States and Britain to address shared worries about China’s growing power.
It envisages Australia acquiring U.S. nuclear-powered attack submarines from 2032 and its deployment from 2040 of a new class of submarine built jointly with Britain using U.S. technology, as well as development of advanced weapons such as hypersonic missiles.
Lovegrove, Britain’s national security adviser when AUKUS was formed, was commissioned last year to review Britain’s progress towards meeting its core commitments under the project and identify barriers to success.
A British official told Reuters Lovegrove had briefed Pentagon officials and senior U.S. lawmakers on his report and was also due to meet officials of the U.S. State Department.
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Lovegrove has also discussed the report with Australian officials in London and Washington and will travel to Australia soon, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Lovegrove’s Washington visit comes just ahead of a national election in Australia on Saturday.
The two main parties contesting the poll back AUKUS, which is Australia’s biggest-ever defense project, but the opposition Liberal Party had been more vocal on the need to step up defense spending.
Before Australia takes ownership of submarines under AUKUS, four U.S. and one British commanded submarines will provide a “rotational force” at Australia’s Indian Ocean naval base in Perth from 2027, giving Washington a coveted strategic position to operate from in the Indo-Pacific.
Trump’s tariff plans have raised some concerns about AUKUS in Australia and questions remain as to whether Washington can boost U.S. submarine production to meet its own targets and allow sales to Australia.
Among other obstacles, U.S. controls on sensitive defense exports, relaxed for Australia and Britain and the AUKUS project last year, still apply to certain submarine technology, requiring the issuance of special licenses that can be time-consuming to obtain.
There have been concerns too about the Australian Labor government’s reluctance to discuss using AUKUS submarines against China, something that could hurt U.S. deterrence efforts in the Indo-Pacific if U.S. vessels are transferred.
(Reporting by David Brunnstrom; Additional reporting by Kirsty Needham in Sydney and Idrees Ali in Washington; Editing by Andrea Ricci)
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