PM touches down in London ahead of AUKUS talks
After months of speculation and pressure to raise defence spending, Anthony Albanese will get an opportunity to press the importance of the AUKUS defence pact.
Fresh from attending the United Nations General Assembly, Anthony Albanese has arrived in London alongside fiancée Jodie Haydon on Friday morning (AEST), ahead of a conference of left-wing leaders.
He will join Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Iceland’s Kristrun Frostadottir and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the Global Progress Action Summit – a gathering of some of the world’s top progressive leaders and policy experts.
The AUKUS deal is likely to dominate discussions between Starmer and Albanese when the pair meet at 10 Downing St following the summit.
Mr Albanese is also due to meet King Charles III at Balmoral Castle, after the monarch stressed the importance of AUKUS during US President Donald Trump’s visit to the UK last week.
“Our AUKUS submarine partnership, with Australia, sets the benchmark for innovative and vital collaboration,” the King said at a state banquet at Windsor Castle, as Trump, seated next to him, nodded.
Under the multibillion-dollar security pact with the US and UK, Australia would gain nuclear-powered attack submarines by the early 2040s.
But the US is reviewing the agreement, agreed under Joe Biden’s presidency, to ensure it aligns with Trump’s “America First” agenda.
Back home, Acting Prime Minister Richard Marles said Australia and the UK had stepped up their engagement on strategic issues in recent years.
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“We’ve really seen a very significant strategic dimension be applied to what is our oldest relationship, and that’s very much through AUKUS,” he told Sky News on Friday.
Trump would also be a key topic of discussion between the pair, said Monash-Warwick Alliance international relations researcher Tom Howe.
“I think (Mr Albanese and Mr Starmer) will probably talk about some tactics on how to best manage Trump,” Howe told AAP.
He said Australia had a lot riding on the UK, with the first British nuclear submarines scheduled to start rotating through a Perth naval base from 2027.
