Australia To Purchase US Nuclear Submarines To Counter China

In a clear countermeasure to growing Communist Chinese military influence in the South Pacific, Australia is working to secure U.S. nuclear submarines.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese disclosed Friday that he is confident that U.S. lawmakers will approve the deal to purchase three Virginia-class nuclear submarines. Australia also aims to build five new AUKUS-class vessels along with their British allies.

The AUKUS partnership nations, Australia, the U.K. and the U.S. are meeting this week in Brisbane. 

There is resistance in the U.S. Congress to the move as 25 Republican lawmakers signed a letter to President Joe Biden. They warned the nuclear submarine sale would “unacceptably weaken the U.S. fleet.”

They further noted that there are no current plans to increase U.S submarine production.

Albanese, however, said he is “very confident” that Washington will come through with delivering the nuclear submarines. At a NATO summit in Lithuania this month, he said he received assurances from both Democrats and Republicans that the deal would be done. 

The prime minister said the relationship between AUKUS members “has never been stronger.”

The AUKUS agreement for Australia to receive nuclear submarine technology from the U.S. was reached in 2021. In March, the South Pacific nation announced that it would purchase the submarines in the early 2030s.

It will be the following decade before its partnership with the U.K. produces the new submarine class SSN-AUKUS.

Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles recently revealed that his country agreed to invest $3 billion in U.S. submarine manufacturing. He acknowledged, as did 25 GOP lawmakers, that there is “pressure on the American industrial base in this field.”

He claimed, however, that the sale will be beneficial to all three AUKUS nations while developing a submarine base in Australia.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin pointed toward China’s ambitions in the Indo-Pacific with concern. He said Washington is watching Beijing’s actions “and will continue to support our allies and partners as they defend themselves from bullying behavior.” 

Australia is on the front lines in the region as it faces China’s massive military buildup. War games featuring over 30,000 troops from the U.S., Japan and 10 other nations are ongoing in Queensland this week.