AP reports that President Joe Biden announced on Wednesday a new U.S. security alliance with Australia and Britain that will provide Australia with the technology and capability to deploy nuclear-powered submarines.
The agreement would make Australia the first country without nuclear weapons to obtain nuclear-powered submarines. The United States has previously only shared the technology with Britain in 1958. The submarines will be nuclear-powered but not armed with nuclear weapons.
Current plans are to build at least eight nuclear-powered submarines for the Royal Australian Navy in Adelaide, Australia.
While no nation was specifically named in Biden’s announcement, the new strategic alliance, named AUKUS, is believed to be intended to counter Chinese naval expansion in the Pacific. China reacted critically to the announcement.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said the three countries were “severely damaging regional peace and stability, intensifying an arms race, and damaging international nuclear non-proliferation efforts”.
“China always believes that any regional mechanism should conform to the trend of peace and development of the times and help enhance mutual trust and cooperation… It should not target any third party or undermine its interests,” he told a regular briefing in Beijing.
France was also displeased by the announcement, for more commercial than strategic reasons.
Australia notified France that it will end its 56 billion Australian dollar ($43 billion) contract with France to build 12 of the world’s largest conventional diesel-electric submarines. Australia has spent AU$2.4 billion ($1.8 billion) on the project since 2016. The first of the French-designed submarines was to have been delivered in 2027.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian expressed “total incomprehension” at the decision and criticized both Australia and the United States.
“It was really a stab in the back. We built a relationship of trust with Australia, and this trust was betrayed,” Le Drian said Thursday on France-Info radio.
Thanks to Irwin Bryan for contributing to this post.
Australia to acquire nuclear submarine fleet as part of partnership with US and UK
Budget overruns and culture clashes over long vacations plagued the $50 billion submarine deal France got booted from in favor of the US and UK
France’s deal to build Australia’s new submarines was dogged by years of problems.
They came to a head this week when Australia ditched France and struck a deal with the UK and US.
As costs ballooned, officials were “stunned” by the French taking a month vacation each summer.
See – https://www.businessinsider.com/cost-culture-clash-50bn-deal-france-lost-to-us-uk-2021-9?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=sf-bi-main&utm_medium=social&fbclid=IwAR13Ba_LvV0MHCWxXfFYEVSsd9d_EJrdivdO724wuSDnO2Kn5B_akJn1JOE&r=US&IR=TSee –
And – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_t_d5e24wUQ&t=121s
Thanks. David Rye.