AUKUS: US-UK-Australia security alliance reaches agreement on nuclear submarine project – BBC News 中文

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said on Tuesday (March 14) in response to the US-UK-Australia nuclear submarine cooperation issue that the cooperation “constitutes a serious risk of nuclear proliferation.”

In talks with two other leaders in San Diego, California, US President Joe Biden emphasized that the aim of the agreement was to promote peace in the region and that what Australia would build were “nuclear submarines, not nuclear weapons.” .

President Biden said the plan would not undermine Australia’s commitment to being a nuclear-free nation.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak were with Biden when he spoke.

For Australia, this is a major upgrade to the military capabilities of US allies. Australia is the second country, after the UK, to acquire Washington’s advanced nuclear propulsion technology.

The submarines will operate further and faster than Australia’s existing diesel submarines, and for the first time Australia will be able to engage enemies at a distance.

Under the terms of the agreement, Australian naval personnel will be sent to submarine bases in the United States and the United Kingdom from this year to acquire the necessary technology to operate these nuclear submarines.

From 2027, the United States and the United Kingdom will have a small number of nuclear submarines in use at the Australian Naval Base in the city of Perth in Western Australia. Australia will then buy three Virginia-class submarines from the United States in early the 2030s, with an option to buy two more.

After that, the agreement intends to design and build a new nuclear submarine for the British and Australian navies, and the design model is called “SSN-AUKUS”.

The attack submarine will be designed in the UK and built in the UK and Australia, although it will use technology from all three countries.

President Biden said the three countries are committed to keeping the region free and open.

“By forming this new partnership, we are showing — how democracies can keep us safe and prosperous … not just for us, but for the world,” he said.

In his speech on Monday, Biden also pledged a total of $4.6bn (£3.7bn) over the next few years to expand its submarine-building capabilities and improve the maintenance of its Virginia-class submarines.

Prime Minister Albanese said the plan would cost Canberra as much as A$368bn (£201bn) over 30 years, marking Australia’s “largest ever defense investment”.

Albanese also said the submarine building program will create thousands of new jobs.

“It will be an Australian sovereign capability, built by Australians, commanded by the Royal Australian Navy and maintained by Australian workers in Australian shipyards, and construction will begin this decade,” he said.

Albanese also mentioned that the “Ocus” agreement represents “the first time in 65 years that the United States has shared its nuclear propulsion technology” and only the second time in history that it has shared its nuclear propulsion technology, for which he expressed his gratitude. .

The British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, said that the challenges to global security and stability had only increased in the 18 months since the agreement was announced.

“Russia’s illegal attack on Ukraine, China’s growing assertiveness, the destabilizing behavior of Iran and North Korea – all this is poised to create a world of danger, chaos and division,” Sunak said.

As part of his visit to the United States, Sunak has also pledged to boost defense spending by nearly £5 billion ($6 billion) over the next two years to counter threats from hostile regimes.

The US-UK-Australia nuclear submarine cooperation agreement has been repeatedly criticized by China.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said in response to the US-UK-Australia nuclear submarine cooperation issue that the plan “is a typical Cold War mentality, which will only stimulate an arms race, undermine the deterrence system international nuclear proliferation, and the damage to regional peace and stability.”

Wang Wenbin drew attention to the fact that the nuclear submarine cooperation between the United States, Britain and Australia poses a serious risk of nuclear proliferation and goes against the purpose of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.

Addressing concerns that the West is building up its military presence in the Indo-Pacific, US national security adviser Jake Sullivan insisted that Washington had no intention of creating a new NATO-style alliance.

Although the leaders of the three countries have vigorously highlighted how the agreement will strengthen their cooperation, it has no political implications.

In 2021, Australia scrapped a multi-million dollar submarine program with France and instead threw itself into the trilateral agreement – leading to a political rift with Paris.

Phil Mercer (Phil Mercer) of the BBC reports from Sydney that the agreement brings the Australian army closer than ever to the United Kingdom and the United States.

The Australian government has promoted the deal because of its strategic importance and the thousands of jobs it could create.

But our reporter pointed out that the country will also face some very delicate diplomatic situations in the future.

China is Australia’s most important trading partner, and the question is whether Australia can strengthen its military ties with the US while promoting commercial ties with Beijing.

The Australian government says the “Ocus” deal will cost Australia A$368bn (£201bn) over the next three decades.

No decision has been made on the future location of the east coast submarine base, although Port Kembla, near Wollongong, 100 kilometers (62 miles) south of Sydney, has been suggested as a possible base.

A local official said her community was concerned about the possibility of a nuclear submarine base nearby.

“It raises alarms that it could turn us into a potential military target,” Green Party MP Cath Blakey told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in an interview.

“I think it’s a potential sovereign risk for Australia that we’re tying ourselves to the US and the UK.”