Noh told members of the US Senate Armed Services Committee that there could be opportunities for Washington, London and Canberra to modify Pillar 1 of the Aukus arrangement before the current review’s completion, expected this autumn.

“The department is conducting a review of Aukus to make sure it is fully aligned with President [Donald] Trump’s ‘America first’ foreign policy … It is a brass-tack, common-sense look at the realities facing Aukus, including the state of our submarine industrial base,” he said.

“There are things that I believe are common-sense things that we can do to strengthen Aukus, to strengthen Pillar 1 to ensure that it is more sustainable.”

Beijing describes Aukus as a threat to regional stability and the pact is widely seen as a way to contain China’s growing naval power.