The leaders of the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia on Monday unveiled their plan to acquire and develop nuclear-powered submarines under the AUKUS security pact, seen as a counterbalance to China’s growing influence in the Indo-Pacific.
The President of the United States, Joe Biden, and the Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom and Australia, Rishi Sunak and Anthony Albanese, revealed in San Diego, California, the characteristics and conditions of the submarines, while the first represents tangible progress in the AUKUS charter.
Biden, who has claimed his country is a “Pacific power” with the authority to defend, among other things, said freedom of navigation in the Indian and Pacific oceans.
Under the agreement, Australia will purchase up to three Virginia-class single-jet submarines from the United States through 2030, with the option to buy two more if needed, bringing the total to five.
And Biden made it clear that for the first time in 65 years, the United States will share the technology at the core of its nuclear-powered submarines with another country, allowing Australia to build its own ships.
The multi-stage submarine development project will culminate in the production by Australia and the United Kingdom of new nuclear-powered submarines that will use US technology and will be codenamed “SSN-AUKUS”.
Britain will equip the “SSN-AUKUS” submarines by the end of the 2030s, while Australia will finish manufacturing them in the 40s, according to a joint statement issued by the three leaders.
The idea, Sunak explained, is that the different navies of the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom could operate any of the submarines and exchange components, as well as allow the fleets to communicate using the same terms.
“For the first time, three submarine fleets will be able to work together in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, keeping our oceans prosperous and free for decades,” Sunak said.
For his part, Albanese stressed that the AUKUS agreement will open “new horizons” for the three countries with new technological innovations and the desire to ensure a “prosperous and peaceful future”.
While delivering their speeches, the three leaders stood behind the massive 7,800-ton USS Missouri, one of the US Navy’s Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarines.
These submarines are powered by a nuclear reactor, which allows them to operate at higher speeds and spend more time without surfacing than conventional diesel submarines.
The announcement was made in San Diego because the city is home to one of the main military bases for the US Pacific Fleet.
The AUKUS trilateral agreement (representing Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States) was announced on 15 September 2021.
At the time, the announcement sparked a diplomatic crisis between Australia and France because it included the cancellation of a contract with French shipping company Naval to develop conventional submarines for the Canberra.
Although the signatories did not explicitly mention China, the agreement is considered an alliance to counter Beijing’s influence in the strategic Indo-Pacific region, which is witnessing tensions in the South China Sea and in Taiwan, which the Chinese government considers a rebellious region.
The new submarines would allow Australia to enter, from the next decade, the club of countries with nuclear powered submarines, which includes the United States, Russia, China, the United Kingdom, France and India.
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