Britain "understands" US need to review AUKUS submarine pact

Britain said on Thursday it understood a decision by US President Donald Trump's administration to launch a formal review into the AUKUS submarine pact, repeating London's position that the project was crucial to peace and security.

In 2023, the United States, Australia and Britain unveiled details of the plan to provide Australia with nuclear-powered attack submarines from the early 2030s to counter China's ambitions in the Indo-Pacific.

On Wednesday, a Pentagon official said the administration was reviewing AUKUS to ensure it was, "aligned with the President's America First agenda".

Asked about the review, a spokesperson for deeply unpopular British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said, "as we've already said it is understandable that a new administration would want to review its approach to such a major partnership."

"AUKUS is a landmark security and defence partnership with two of our closest allies and it's one of the most strategically important partnerships in decades supporting peace and security in the Indo-Pacific and Euro-Atlantic," he told reporters.

(Reporting by Andrew MacAskill, writing by Elizabeth Piper)