Countering China ambitions
\nAustralia to receive new SSN-AUKUS class of subs in 2040s
\n washington
\nThe United States, Australia and Britain unveiled details of a plan to provide Australia with nuclear-powered attack submarines from the early 2030s to counter China\u2019s ambitions in the Indo-Pacific.
\nAddressing a ceremony at the US naval base on Monday in San Diego, accompanied by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, US President Joe Biden called the agreement under the 2021 AUKUS partnership part of a shared commitment to a free-and-open Indo-Pacific region with two of America\u2019s \u201cmost stalwart and capable allies.\u201d
\nSunak called it \u201ca powerful partnership,\u201d adding: \u201cFor the first time ever it will mean three fleets of submarines working together across the Atlantic and Pacific keeping our oceans free … for decades to come.\u201d
\nUnder the deal, which was welcomed by its Asian allies on Tuesday but has angered Beijing, the United States intends to sell Australia three US Virginia class nuclear-powered submarines, which are built by General Dynamics, in the early 2030s, with an option for Australia to buy two more if needed, a joint statement said.
\nIt said the multi-stage project would culminate with British and Australian production and operation of a new submarine class – SSN-AUKUS – a \u201ctrilaterally developed\u201d vessel based on Britain\u2019s next-generation design that would be built in Britain and Australia and include \u201ccutting edge\u201d US technologies.
\nBritain would take delivery of its first SSN-AUKUS submarine in the late 2030s, and Australia would receive its first in the early 2040s. The vessels will be built by BAE Systems and Rolls-Royce.
\n\u201cThe AUKUS agreement we confirm here in San Diego represents the biggest single investment in Australia\u2019s defence capability in our history, strengthening Australia\u2019s national security and stability in our region,\u201d Albanese said at the ceremony.
\nAUKUS will be the first time Washington has shared nuclear-propulsion technology since it did so with Britain in the 1950s.
\nBiden stressed that the submarines would be nuclear-powered, not nuclear-armed: \u201cThese boats will not have nuclear weapons of any kind on them,\u201d he said.
\nBut the deal comes with an eye-watering bill for Australia with cost estimated to go up to A$368 billion ($245 billion) by 2055.
\nAlbanese defended the spending, saying it was \u201can economic plan, not just a defence and security plan\u201d.
\nHe said he expected AUKUS would result in A$6 billion invested in Australia\u2019s industrial capability over the next four years and create about 20,000 direct jobs over the next 30. He said it would require funding amounting to about 0.15% of GDP per year.
\nAustralia\u2019s defence minister, Richard Marles, said it was an investment in the nation\u2019s security.
\n\u201cIt is an investment that we cannot afford not to make,\u201d Marles told a news conference in Canberra.
\nChina has condemned AUKUS as an illegal act of nuclear proliferation. The plan \u201cconstitutes serious nuclear proliferation risks, undermines international non-proliferation system, fuels arms races, and hurts peace and stability,\u201d China\u2019s permanent mission to the United Nations said in a tweet after the announcement.
\nAsked if he was worried China would see the AUKUS submarine deal as aggression, Biden replied \u201cno.\u201d He said he expected to speak to Chinese leader Xi Jinping soon, but would not say when.
\nUS national security adviser Jake Sullivan pointed on Friday to Beijing\u2019s own military buildup, including nuclear-powered submarines, saying: \u201cWe have communicated with them about AUKUS and sought more information from them about their intentions.\u201d
\nAustralia offered China a briefing on the submarine deal, Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles said.
\nIn launching the partnership, Australia also upset France by abruptly cancelling a deal to buy French conventional submarines.
\nThe agreement will see US and British submarines deployed in Western Australia as soon as 2027 to help train Australian crews and bolster deterrence. US officials said this would involve four US submarines and one British in a few years.
\nThis first phase of the plan is already underway with the US Virginia-class nuclear-powered attack submarine Asheville visiting Perth in Western Australia, officials said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Countering China ambitions Australia to receive new SSN-AUKUS class of subs in 2040s washington The United States, Australia and Britain unveiled details of a plan to provide Australia with nuclear-powered attack submarines from the early 2030s to counter China\u2019s ambitions in the Indo-Pacific. Addressing a ceremony at the US naval base on Monday in San […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":319551,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-319526","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n