US needs to step up assurances on AUKUS, admits Kurt Campbell

The Biden administration's 2025 defence budget revealed earlier this month that money had only been allocated for one new submarine next year, before returning to two in 2026. Dr Campbell dismissed concerns about this, saying the budgetary papers were simply acknowledging the reality about short-term shipyard production capacity, which would be expanded. "At the heart of this is the largest increase in investment in the United States submarine program since its inception decades ago," he told the Financial Review after addressing an AmCham Alliance summit in Washington this week. The US budget has set aside $US3.9 billion ($5.9 billion) in…