Australia Laments Bureaucratic ‘Permafrost’ That’s Slowing Aukus Security Alliance
- Top defense official cites delays on quantum, AI cooperation
- Officials express concern that Aukus won’t live up to promise
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A top Australian defense official said bloated US bureaucracy has delayed technology-sharing that was supposed to be a key benefit of the Aukus security deal, adding to concerns that the young partnership isn’t living up to its early promise.
Ninh Duong, science leader at the Australian Department of Defence, who’s based at Australia’s embassy in Washington and has been involved in Aukus since the outset, blamed what he called “a permafrost layer of middle management” in the US government for the delays. Wading through the US system feels like “death by a thousand cuts,” he said in an interview.