Australian officials are preparing for the United States to seek ongoing use of the nation’s biggest naval base as part of the Pentagon’s secretive review into the AUKUS pact – a move that would help project American power across the Indo-Pacific as it prepares for a possible conflict with China.

US Navy Secretary John Phelan attracted attention during a White House meeting between President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Tuesday by saying that the US wanted to clear up areas of “ambiguity” in the original AUKUS plan.

Trump expressed strong support for AUKUS and the plan to sell at least three nuclear-powered submarines to Australia, but some changes are expected following a review led by senior Pentagon official Elbridge Colby, which is due by the end of the year.

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