Australia to invest $ 8 billion in Aukus Defense Hub near Perth

(Bloomberg) -Australia will spend a $ 12 billion ($ 8 billion) on a defense center to build naval ships and accuse core diving boats, Premier Anthony Albanian will announce Sunday, as Canberra is trying to strengthen US support for the Aukus Treaty. The financing commitment is for the development of the Henderson defense area, south of Perth in Western Australia, Australian Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles told ABC Insiders program on Sunday. Funding will also go to build surface vessels for the Australian army and maintenance facilities. The early cost estimate for the total project was a $ 25 billion, Marles said. Australia’s defensive spending is currently 2.8% of gross domestic product. “If you include what we spend here, this is the better part – relative to what we inherited when we came to the government in 2022 – of an extra $ 70 billion in defense spending over the decade,” Marles told ABC insiders. “What it represents is the biggest increase in peacetime in our defense spending in the history of Australia.” Australia works with the US and the UK to build and equip a fleet-powered submarine submarines for Canberra to field, possibly already in the 2030s, as part of the Aukus Agreement signed in 2021. In June, the Pentagon launched an overview of the Biden-era treaty, as the Trump administration moved the burden to all kinds of warships. Foreign Minister Marco Rubio reassured Marles Private that the agreement would not be terminated, reports the Washington Post, citing people who are familiar with the case. Marles told Sky News separately on Sunday that he had received “positive sentiment” from Rubio and the Minister of Defense Pete Hegseth. “I had numerous conversations with American peers,” he said. “I am very confident about the process of Aukus under the Trump administration.” Under the agreement, the US will sell Australia to five of its core-powered submarines in Virginia class by the early 2030s. Australia and the UK would then design and build a next generation submarine, partly with US technology, which would be completed in the 2040s. The nation of the Southern Hemisphere upgraded and upgraded its defense capabilities in response to an increasingly disputed region, while China quickly expanded its military power. More stories like these are available on Bloomberg.com © 2025 Bloomberg LP