To Counter China, U.S. Shares Nuclear-Submarine Technology
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In a press conference in San Diego Monday, President Joe Biden and his Australian and U.K. counterparts announced that the U.S. will sell nuclear-powered submarines to Australia and increase trilateral defense cooperation. The message to China was clear: The Indo-Pacific region will remain free and open.
Under AUKUS, the acronym given to the trilateral partnership, the U.S. will shared its nuclear-propulsion technology for the first time in 65 years and only the second time in history. The United Kingdom was the most recent beneficiary of the technology, which allows submarines to travel underwater for long distances without needing to surface.
Announced in 2021 and brokered secretly, the AUKUS deal included the Australian government’s cancellation of a $66 billion contract for a French-built fleet of conventional submarines. The cancellation took months to mend diplomatically.
Biden struck an interventionist tone at the press conference, explaining that “in forging this new partnership, we’re showing again how democracies can deliver our own security and prosperity and not just for us, but for the entire world.”
“Our unprecedented trilateral cooperation I believe is testament . . . to our shared commitment of ensuring the Indo-Pacific remains free and open, prosperous and secure, defined by opportunity for all, a shared commitment to create a future rooted in our common values,” he added.
Beginning in the 2030s, with the support and approval of Congress, the U.S. will sell three Virginia-class submarines to Australia with the potential to sell up to two more if needed. Biden explained that this will jump-start Australia’s undersea capability a decade earlier than many predicted.
“There’s a reason why not everyone has nuclear-powered submarines. Nuclear propulsion is a highly complicated technology. It requires years of training to master, so we’re starting right away,” Biden explained.
Australian personnel will embed with U.S. and U.K. crews.
The submarines will conventionally armed, not nuclear-armed, as Australia does not have nuclear weapons and all three nations are committed to nuclear nonproliferation.
“The AUKUS agreement we confirm here in San Diego represents the biggest single investment in Australia’s defense capability in all of our history, strengthening Australia’s national security and stability in our region,” Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese explained.
“This is a genuine trilateral undertaking, all three nations stand ready to contribute, and all three nations stand ready to benefit,” Albanese added.
The last phase of the plan involves the production of a new submarine design to be named SSN-AUKUS. The U.K. will start building first and then share knowledge with Australia, who will follow. “[SSN-AUKUS] will be an Australian sovereign capability,” Albanese explained.
According to U.K. prime minister Rishi Sunak, these submarines will be truly interoperable.
“The Royal Navy will operate the same submarines as the Australian navy and we will both share components and parts with the U.S. Navy. Our submarine crews will train together, patrol together, and maintain their boats together. They will communicate using the same terminology and the same equipment,” Sunak said.
Sunak specifically mentioned “China’s growing assertiveness” as part of the motivation behind the partnership.
He also announced that the U.K. will incrementally increase its defense spending, with a final goal of 2.5 percent of GDP.
“We’re providing an extra £5 billion over 2 years, immediately increasing our defense budget to around 2.25 percent of GDP. This will allow us to replenish our war stocks and modernize our nuclear enterprise, delivering AUKUS and strengthening our deterrent,” Sunak said.
The press conference also featured two symbolic gestures. The three leaders were flanked by the USS Missouri, a 377-foot submarine. Additionally, Biden explained that the USS Asheville was making a call into Perth, Australia, during the press conference, adding that “top-of-the-line submarines are the vanguard of U.S. naval power.”
