An AUKUS critic has shed light on the fundamental dangers of the submarine deal including the threat of Australia being a nuclear target, as the security pact receives support from Donald Trump - and a rising number of Australians. 

Earlier this month, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed that AUKUS was going 'full steam ahead' after questions were raised when the Trump administration earlier announced it would review the deal.

The deal is expected to cost Australia up to $368billion over three decades. 

Just a few weeks before Rubio's thumbs up, an Australia-wide survey of 2,045 people by University of Technology Sydney (UTS) found support for the policy had increased.

The number of people who agreed the trilateral deal with the US and UK - which would see Australia acquire nuclear-powered submarines  - could help keep Australia secure if a military threat from China rose year-on-year.

While 48 per cent agreed in 2024, that rose to 50 percent in the 2025 survey. The poll also found that over two thirds (68 per cent) supported using AUKUS to deepen Australia's cooperation with the US and UK on advanced technologies.

This included hopes for technology in cyber, AI and quantum computing. 

But AUKUS critic and adjunct professor at the Australia-China Relations Institute, Mark Beeson, has said there are some major issues with the deal which most Australians are missing.

The Trump administration said AUKUS will go 'full steam ahead' after a review earlier this year (Foreign Minister Penny Wong with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on December 8)

A major component of AUKUS will be a facility at the Australian Navy's HMAS Stirling base in Perth's south from 2027.

Up to 1,200 UK and US personnel, their families, and five nuclear-powered submarines will be stationed there.

'We will undoubtedly be a nuclear target,' Beeson said of the facility. 'I don't think many of the people living in Perth realise that, if they weren't a nuclear target before, they certainly will be when all these... submarines start arriving.

'This will be a sort of launch pad for whatever American strategic adventure they decide to take on next.'

The use of the area as base also raised another key issue for Professor Beeson: Australia's sovereignty.

'I think there are questions about the historical relationship we have with America,' he said, referencing the poll.

The survey revealed that a growing trend among Australians is that they want Canberra to make foreign policy decisions without the US and UK.