The US will be able to use a major naval precinct in Western Australia to dock and maintain its own nuclear-powered submarines, the federal government has confirmed, after committing $12bn to upgrade the shipyard.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, on Sunday insisted the shipyard was an “Australian facility” as he downplayed suggestions the announcement was timed to appease US demands for increased Australian defence spending ahead of a potential face-to-face meeting with Donald Trump.
The Pentagon is also reviewing the Aukus deal.
“Australia has always pulled our weight,” Albanese said of the government’s record on defence spending.
On Sunday, Albanese and the defence minister, Richard Marles, announced the $12bn commitment towards a major redevelopment of the Henderson naval shipyard south of Perth.
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The Henderson precinct, which Marles said was estimated to cost $25bn over 10 years, will be used for docking and maintenance of Australia’s future fleet of nuclear-powered submarines as well as other naval shipbuilding projects.
The federal government plans to acquire three to five Virginia-class submarines from the US, starting from 2032, under the $368bn Aukus deal. US and UK-owned nuclear submarines will start rotating through HMAS Stirling, which is also in Western Australia, from 2027.
Albanese and Marles confirmed on Sunday that the US navy would be able to use Henderson, offering Washington a location to dock and maintain its submarines in the strategically significant Pacific region.
“It is very much an Australian sovereign capability and that is its purpose,” Marles said.
“But in respect of the maintenance of submarines, it is an Aukus facility. Now, ultimately, where the United States … maintain their submarines is a matter for them, but we absolutely anticipate that this will be a facility for them.”
Marles said it was “fundamentally” an Australian announcement, but he had no doubt the decision would be welcomed in the US and the UK “because it is another step forward down the Aukus path”.
The US challenges in keeping its submarines in the water have been well-documented, with reports in 2023 suggesting almost 40% of its fleet was either in repair or awaiting maintenance amid workforce shortages and supply chain problems.
The Albanese government has already handed over $1.6bn to the US to support America’s shipbuilding capacity, with delivery of the first Virginia-class submarines to Australia in the early 2030s contingent on the US ramping up production.
The $12bn announcement for the Henderson shipyard follows public pressure from the Trump administration on Australia to lift its overall defence spending to 3.5% of GDP.
The commitment alone would fall well short of the US request, which amounts to about $40bn per year.
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The government is spending $56bn on defence this financial year, roughly 2% of GDP, with plans to increase it to $100.4bn in 2033-34, about 2.4% of GDP.
In an earlier interview on ABC’s Insiders program, Marles played down the significance of GDP as a measure of defence spending – despite the government using it repeatedly in the past.
“We are focused on the dollar amount,” he said, arguing Australia’s proportion would be 2.8% under the method used by Nato countries.
Marles on Sunday said he was “really confident” in the Trump administration’s support for Aukus after reports the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, had personally assured him it wouldn’t be sunk by the Pentagon review.
Bruce Wolpe, a senior fellow at the United States Studies Centre, said the federal government’s Henderson shipyard announcement was further evidence that the Aukus deal was secure.
“Why would you make such an announcement if, in fact, Aukus was in mortal danger?” he said. “The answer to that question is that it’s not in mortal danger.”
Albanese will travel to Papua New Guinea on Monday, where he is expected to sign a new defence treaty on the eve of the 50th anniversary of the Pacific nation’s independence.
The prime minister will return to Australia on Wednesday before flying out to the US for the UN general assembly leaders’ summit in New York – and a possible first face-to-face meeting with Trump.
