Australia, US, UK Unveil Major Nuclear Submarine Deal

Facts

• Australia will reportedly spend up to $245B by 2055 on a national defense program under the 2021 so-called AUKUS pact that includes building a new fleet of eight nuclear-powered submarines to be operational in the 2040s.¹
• The largest single defense project in Australia's history was unveiled on Tuesday as US Pres. Joe Biden met with his Australian and British counterparts Anthony Albanese and Rishi Sunak at a US Naval Base in San Diego amid growing tensions with China in the Indo-Pacific region.²
• The multi-phase program is set to begin with intensified visits by US submarines to Australian ports this year, followed by the rotating deployment of US and British nuclear-powered submarines to Western Australia, beginning in 2027 as a first step toward closing Cranberry's 'operational capabilities' gap.³
• As part of the defense project, Australia will purchase three nuclear-powered US submarines in the early 2030s, with the option to acquire two more submarines, which Biden noted will be nuclear-powered but not nuclear-armed.⁴
• Another phase of the multi-decade plan features the design and construction of an all-new nuclear-powered attack submarine for the UK and Australian navies, dubbed the 'SSN AUKUS,' to be built in Australia and the UK but incorporating technologies from all three AUKUS allies.⁵
• Meanwhile, China's Foreign Ministry on Tuesday condemned the latest AUKUS announcement.⁶

Sources: ¹Mexico daily post, ²The citizen lab, ³Guardian, ⁴Reuters (a), ⁵Reuters (b) and ⁶New York Post.

Narratives

• Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Vanity fair. While the AUKUS allies pretend that their military buildup is about peace and stability, in reality, this deal sets off a destabilizing and unnecessary arms race that will further provoke China. This unjustifiable move reflects a cold war and colonial mindset in which the Anglophone powers believe they have a natural right to dominate the region. By investing hundreds of billions, Australia is not only making itself an agent of US hegemonic interests but also risks gambling away its own political and economic future in an increasingly multipolar arena.
• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by Guardian. The predictable Chinese criticism that the defense deal would provoke a new arms race and potentially undermine the non-proliferation regime is completely unfounded. Australia will not acquire nuclear weapons in the future and remains committed to peaceful coexistence with its neighbors. Meanwhile, it is China that is entirely non-transparent about its military build-up and refuses to accept a US offer for de-escalation. Given Beijing's increasingly hostile posture, it is now up to AUKUS to defend the freedom of the Indo-Pacific region.

Predictions