Australia to buy US nuclear submarine under AUKUS

Subject : International Relations

Section: Groupings

Concept :

Australia has unveiled plans to buy up to five U.S. nuclear-powered submarines, then build a new model with U.S. and British technology under an ambitious plan to bulk up Western muscle across the Asia-Pacific in the face of a rising China.
The announcement came at an event at a San Diego, California, naval base where U.S. President Joe Biden hosted Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
US said it had “safeguarded stability in the Indo-Pacific for decades” and that the submarine alliance would bolster “the prospect of peace for decades to come.”
US President stressed, Australia, which joined a newly formed alliance known as AUKUS with Washington and London 18 months ago, will not be getting nuclear weapons.
However, acquiring stealthy submarines powered by nuclear reactors puts Australia in an elite club and at the forefront of U.S.-led efforts to push back against Chinese military expansion.
IAEA, UN nuclear watchdog, said it has to ensure that “no proliferation risks” will come from the deal.

Details of the Submarine deal

The United States, Australia and Britain unveiled details of a plan to provide Australia with “nuclear-powered” attack submarines from the early 2030s.
Under the deal, the United States intends to sell Australia three US Virginia class nuclear-powered submarines, in the early 2030s, with an option for Australia to buy two more if needed.
The multi-stage project would culminate with British and Australian production and operation of a new submarine class – SSN-AUKUS.
SSN-AUKUS will be a trilaterally developed vessel based on Britain’s next-generation design.
It would be built in Britain and Australia and include cutting edge U.S. technologies.
Britain would take delivery of its first SSN-AUKUS submarine in the late 2030s, and Australia would receive its first in the early 2040s.
Funding mechanism: Australia will also provide $3 billion over the next four years to production lines in the US and the UK as part of its financial commitment, with the US receiving the majority of the funding for improvement.

AUKUS partnership

Signed in September 2021, the new enhanced trilateral security partnership between Australia, United Kingdom, and United States is named as “AUKUS”.
This is a trilateral defence deal for Indo-Pacific.
Intent for AUKUS is to preserve a free and open Indo-Pacific in the long term.
It drew a sharp response from China, whose territorial ambitions across the Indo-Pacific may well have been a key factor behind the formation of this group.
The first major initiative of AUKUS would be to deliver a “nuclear-powered” submarine fleet for Australia.
These countries, however, made it clear that their aim is not to arm the new submarines with nuclear weapons.
This is because Australia is a signatory to the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) which bans it from acquiring or deploying nuclear weapons.