The former Liberal Prime Minister had claimed the ships could be delivered by 2030. However, Labor’s new defense secretary, Richard Marles, has dismissed this claim as “optimistic to the extreme”.
Mr Marles filled in on Mr Morrison and the previous Liberal National government, accusing them of “inactivity” and “failures”.
He said: “The truth about where the former government left us at the election time is that they were looking at a new nuclear submarine in the 2040s.
“There they were.
“We will be looking at every available option to try and bring that time forward.
“I think it would be extremely optimistic to take it to eight years.
“Their passivity, their failures, their bracelets have basically opened up a 20-year capacity (gap) and what now that’s a gap that we intend to do our best to close.”
The capacity gap is the retirement of the aging Collins-class submarines and the new ships.
There is an ongoing nuclear submarine task force that is halfway through an 18-month “scoping plan” to decide which nuclear ship Canberra will choose.
READ MORE: Putin sends old men and reserves to Russia as Russia ‘runs too few leaders’
Abdullah was warned that the defense deal could spark a regional arms race.
In a joint press conference with his Australian counterpart Penny Wong on Tuesday, he told reporters his government’s stance remained “unchanged”.
He said: “In particular, we want to preserve the South China Sea and the region as a whole as a region of peace, trade and prosperity.
“We have just had a very candid discussion about AUKUS and I thank the (Australian) Foreign Secretary for explaining the government’s position.
“Malaysia’s position remains the same. I have reported it to the Foreign Minister.”
In response, Marles tried to downplay Malaysia’s concerns.
He said: “We’re really convinced that the way we’re going to pursue this doesn’t. It’s a very important principle.
“There will be no precedents. It is important that we are transparent about that as we modernize our military and spend more on defense.
“That we guide that with reassuring statesmanship so that our neighbors have a sense of confidence about why we are acquiring the capabilities that we are and for what purpose.”