The agreement was formalized AUCUS (from the initials of the three countries) to buy US nuclear submarines from Australia, with US, UK and Australian leaders meeting for the first time since announcing their alliance in the fall of 2021.

At the US Naval Base in San Diego, next to the nuclear submarine USS Missouri, Joe Biden, Rishi Sunak and Anthony Albanese revealed details of Canberra’s plan to acquire three such submarines from the early 2030s.

What does the agreement provide for submarines?

The nuclear submarine program will develop in three phases. It will also be based on a key principle, as Biden stated: “these submarines will be nuclear-powered, but they will not carry nuclear weapons.”

The first phase will involve introducing Australia to nuclear technology and nuclear submarines. The goal is to deploy four American and one British submarines to the Australian base in Perth on a rotational basis in the country from 2027.

A year after Congress gives the go-ahead, Australia will buy three U.S. Virginia-class nuclear submarines, with an option to buy two more. They will be delivered from 2030.

The submarines are expected to cost Canberra $40 billion over the first ten years, with the total cost likely to jump to an astronomical $245 billion (€230 billion) by 2055.

Finally, in the third phase, for the first time in 65 years, the US will share its nuclear technology secrets to develop a new type of submarine, the SSN-AUKUS, to be built in Australia and the UK using US know-how. . London will receive its first SSN-AUKUS in the late 2030s and Canberra in the early 2040s.

With an eye on China

This agreement is being interpreted by the American press as one of the Biden administration’s most aggressive moves to counter China’s military expansion in the Asia-Pacific region, to which Beijing has already reacted angrily.

Of course, the American president did not point the finger at the Asian giant, confining himself to general statements together with the leaders of Britain and Australia.

“The United States has provided stability in the Indo-Pacific region for decades, bringing enormous benefits to the countries of the region: from Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the Pacific Islands and the People’s Republic of China,” was Biden’s only mention of Beijing. “We are in the best position to face the challenges of today and tomorrow together,” he added.

Instead, Rishi Sunak did not hesitate to call China “a cause for concern,” noting that the three submarine fleets “will work together in the Atlantic and Pacific to keep our oceans free for decades to come.”

“The growing claims of China, the destabilizing behavior of Iran and North Korea threaten to create a world in which danger, disorder and division reign. In the face of this new reality, it is more important than ever to strengthen the resilience of our countries,” said the British Prime Minister.

Albanese emphasized that his country is “making the largest investment in its history” through this collaboration, while Sunak commented that “three submarine fleets will work together in the Atlantic and Pacific to keep our oceans free (…) for many decades.”

Reactions

China condemned the AUKUS alliance, calling it “an illegal act of nuclear proliferation.” The plan “creates serious risks of nuclear proliferation, undermines the international non-proliferation system, fuels an arms race, and damages peace and stability,” China’s Permanent Mission to the UN said on Twitter.

Asked if he was concerned that Beijing viewed the nuclear submarine agreement as an act of aggression, Biden said no. The US President added that he was going to hold talks with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in the near future, without specifying when.

For his part, Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles said his country had briefed China on the agreement.

“We call on the US, UK and Australia to abandon the Cold War mentality and the zero-sum game,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said yesterday Monday.

According to Reuters, CNN / Photo: Reuters, AP