What a goose Albo is. He’s put Rudd in Washington to torpedo ANZUS and then used that as an excuse to cuddle up to Beijing.
But the bill is coming due.
A Trump administration review of the $368 billion AUKUS pact could see the US demand Australia pay more for submarines, The Sydney Morning Herald reports.
Two Australian officials told The Herald they believe Trump’s undersecretary of defence, Elbridge Colby, who is conducting the review, intends to seek more money for the US submarine industry.
Two other Australian political and defence sources said Colby believes Australia should give the US a guarantee that any submarines netted from the deal would be used to support the US in a conflict with China over Taiwan.
It won’t help this, either.
Donald Trump’s move to ramp up tariffs on medicines and copper has sparked alarm among government and business leaders, amid fears the US President’s latest trade war will smash the local drug industry, stripping nearly $3bn from the economy.
But the chairman of the country’s biggest drugs manufacturer says the White House’s concerns over the nation’s Pharmaceuticals Benefits Scheme are not unreasonable and the Albanese government has room to negotiate with Mr Trump.
Australia should absolutely offer the guarantee. The subs are unlikely to see live action. They will be used to blockade our own ports and shipping routes to China.
Perhaps the greatest single example of Australian policy stupidity in this era of such.
The Trump administration should make Australia pay more for the subs, imposing a balance that raises our defence spending to 3.5% of GDP.
We are a pathetic pack of kiss-arse China bludgers.
The core value of the Australian national interest is at stake—liberalism—and it’s time to man up.
