Post by Admin on Sept 16, 2021 20:41:19 GMT
Australia decided to invest in U.S. nuclear-powered submarines and dump its contract with France to build diesel-electric submarines because of a changed strategic environment, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Thursday.
President Joe Biden on Wednesday had announced a new U.S. security alliance with Australia and Britain that would develop an Australian nuclear-powered submarine fleet.
As a result, Australia notified France that it would end its contract with state majority-owned DCNS to build 12 of the world's largest conventional submarines. Australia has spent 2.4 billion Australian dollars ($1.8 billion) on the project since the French won the contract in 2016.
Morrison said U.S. nuclear submarine technology wasn't an option open to Australia when the AU$56 billion ($43 billion) deal was struck in 2016. The United States had until now only shared the technology with Britain.
Morrison said he told French President Emanuel Macron in June that there were "very real issues about whether a conventional submarine capability" would address Australia's strategic security needs in the Indo-Pacific.
"Of course they're disappointed," Morrison said. "They've been good partners. This is about our strategic interest, our strategic capability requirements and a changed strategic environment and we've had to take that decision."
Australian Defense Force Chief, Gen. Angus Campbell, welcomed the new submarines.
"Our strategic environment has deteriorated," Campbell said. "That challenging environment is becoming more challenging and is set to do so into the future at an accelerated pace."
Australia had not yet decided what class of submarine it would select and did not know how much the nuclear fleet of at least eight submarines would cost, Morrison said.
But Morrison said Australia's defense budget would grow above the current 2.2% of gross domestic product.
The first of the 97-meter (318-foot) Shortfin Barracuda submarines, an adapted French nuclear sub design, was to be delivered in 2027.
Morrison said he expected the first of nuclear subs, which are to be constructed in the Australian city of Adelaide, would be built by 2040.
Top French officials made clear they were unhappy with the deal.
"The American choice to exclude a European ally and partner such as France from a structuring partnership with Australia, at a time when we are facing unprecedented challenges in the Indo-Pacific region, whether in terms of our values or in terms of respect for multilateralism based on the rule of law, shows a lack of coherence that France can only note and regret," French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and Defense Minister Florence Parly said in a joint statement.
Left out of the new alliance was Australia's South Pacific neighbor New Zealand, which in the 1980s enacted policies and laws to ensure it remains nuclear-free. That includes a ban on nuclear-powered ships entering New Zealand ports, a stance which has seen it clash, at times, with the U.S.
President Biden has announced a new security partnership between the U.S., U.K. and Australia focused on the Indo-Pacific region. It includes the sharing of nuclear submarine technology to Australia.
AILSA CHANG, HOST:
Today President Biden announced the creation of a new security partnership between the U.S., the U.K. and Australia. It's a partnership that's focused on the challenges in the Indo-Pacific region. NPR China affairs correspondent John Ruwitch has been following this and joins us now. Hi, John.
JOHN RUWITCH, BYLINE: Hi, Ailsa.
CHANG: All right. So tell us a little more about this announcement.
RUWITCH: Well, President Biden was joined virtually by Prime Minister Scott Morrison of Australia and Boris Johnson of the U.K., and what they announced was a trilateral security partnership called A-U-K-U-S, or AUKUS (ph), is how they pronounce it. They say they're taking old partnerships to a new level and enhancing their shared ability to take on the threats of the 21st century. And so as a first step, what they announced today was that the U.S. and the U.K. are going to work with Australia to help it build a nuclear submarine fleet, which is significant because the U.S. has only shared nuclear submarine technology once before, and it started in 1958 with Great Britain. So they're bringing Australia into this very small club.
Boris Johnson called it a momentous decision. You know, worldwide, there's only a handful of countries with nuclear submarines. They have better capability than conventional submarines. They go faster. They have greater range, more stealth. It's a step up for Australia. And to be very clear, though, what they're talking about is nuclear-powered boats, not boats that are armed with nuclear weapons. And Morrison said that Australia had no intention to acquire nuclear arms.
CHANG: Got it. OK. If we can just step back for a second, what is the U.S. trying to do here?
RUWITCH: This is part of Biden's - President Biden's strategic turn westward toward the Indo-Pacific. The Afghan withdrawal was very much part of that - to free up resources to focus on the Indo-Pacific. And the point of this exercise seems to be twofold. One is, they're boosting deterrence in the Indo-Pacific region - right? - augmenting U.S. capabilities there. And the second is to share the burden. The U.S. has played a major role - the major role since World War II in that region. And again, this fits with the broader strategy. I mean, the U.S. has had what officials say is pretty strong engagement with other countries in the region. Next week, President Biden is hosting leaders of the Quad, which was another security grouping. That's Australia, the United States, Japan and India. A senior administration official who briefed reporters said this is about, you know, maintaining what the Biden administration calls the rules-based order.
CHANG: OK. And can I just ask, is China the main concern here behind this whole new security partnership?
RUWITCH: Well, the senior administration official says this is not aimed at anyone, not aimed at China. But, you know, that phrase that I mentioned a minute or two ago, a second ago, the rules-based order, is a bit of a tell. The Biden administration accuses China of trying to undermine the rules-based order. And really, if you look around the Asia-Pacific region, aside from North Korea, there's really nowhere else that the U.S., U.K., Australia talk about as a threat other than China. You know, they see a China that's been growing in strength militarily and economically and making its presence felt, whether it's building islands in the South China Sea or applying economic pressure to Australia, which has been happening in recent months. And so, you know, this partnership, these nuclear-powered subs will up the ante.
President Joe Biden on Wednesday had announced a new U.S. security alliance with Australia and Britain that would develop an Australian nuclear-powered submarine fleet.
As a result, Australia notified France that it would end its contract with state majority-owned DCNS to build 12 of the world's largest conventional submarines. Australia has spent 2.4 billion Australian dollars ($1.8 billion) on the project since the French won the contract in 2016.
Morrison said U.S. nuclear submarine technology wasn't an option open to Australia when the AU$56 billion ($43 billion) deal was struck in 2016. The United States had until now only shared the technology with Britain.
Morrison said he told French President Emanuel Macron in June that there were "very real issues about whether a conventional submarine capability" would address Australia's strategic security needs in the Indo-Pacific.
"Of course they're disappointed," Morrison said. "They've been good partners. This is about our strategic interest, our strategic capability requirements and a changed strategic environment and we've had to take that decision."
Australian Defense Force Chief, Gen. Angus Campbell, welcomed the new submarines.
"Our strategic environment has deteriorated," Campbell said. "That challenging environment is becoming more challenging and is set to do so into the future at an accelerated pace."
Australia had not yet decided what class of submarine it would select and did not know how much the nuclear fleet of at least eight submarines would cost, Morrison said.
But Morrison said Australia's defense budget would grow above the current 2.2% of gross domestic product.
The first of the 97-meter (318-foot) Shortfin Barracuda submarines, an adapted French nuclear sub design, was to be delivered in 2027.
Morrison said he expected the first of nuclear subs, which are to be constructed in the Australian city of Adelaide, would be built by 2040.
Top French officials made clear they were unhappy with the deal.
"The American choice to exclude a European ally and partner such as France from a structuring partnership with Australia, at a time when we are facing unprecedented challenges in the Indo-Pacific region, whether in terms of our values or in terms of respect for multilateralism based on the rule of law, shows a lack of coherence that France can only note and regret," French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and Defense Minister Florence Parly said in a joint statement.
Left out of the new alliance was Australia's South Pacific neighbor New Zealand, which in the 1980s enacted policies and laws to ensure it remains nuclear-free. That includes a ban on nuclear-powered ships entering New Zealand ports, a stance which has seen it clash, at times, with the U.S.
President Biden has announced a new security partnership between the U.S., U.K. and Australia focused on the Indo-Pacific region. It includes the sharing of nuclear submarine technology to Australia.
AILSA CHANG, HOST:
Today President Biden announced the creation of a new security partnership between the U.S., the U.K. and Australia. It's a partnership that's focused on the challenges in the Indo-Pacific region. NPR China affairs correspondent John Ruwitch has been following this and joins us now. Hi, John.
JOHN RUWITCH, BYLINE: Hi, Ailsa.
CHANG: All right. So tell us a little more about this announcement.
RUWITCH: Well, President Biden was joined virtually by Prime Minister Scott Morrison of Australia and Boris Johnson of the U.K., and what they announced was a trilateral security partnership called A-U-K-U-S, or AUKUS (ph), is how they pronounce it. They say they're taking old partnerships to a new level and enhancing their shared ability to take on the threats of the 21st century. And so as a first step, what they announced today was that the U.S. and the U.K. are going to work with Australia to help it build a nuclear submarine fleet, which is significant because the U.S. has only shared nuclear submarine technology once before, and it started in 1958 with Great Britain. So they're bringing Australia into this very small club.
Boris Johnson called it a momentous decision. You know, worldwide, there's only a handful of countries with nuclear submarines. They have better capability than conventional submarines. They go faster. They have greater range, more stealth. It's a step up for Australia. And to be very clear, though, what they're talking about is nuclear-powered boats, not boats that are armed with nuclear weapons. And Morrison said that Australia had no intention to acquire nuclear arms.
CHANG: Got it. OK. If we can just step back for a second, what is the U.S. trying to do here?
RUWITCH: This is part of Biden's - President Biden's strategic turn westward toward the Indo-Pacific. The Afghan withdrawal was very much part of that - to free up resources to focus on the Indo-Pacific. And the point of this exercise seems to be twofold. One is, they're boosting deterrence in the Indo-Pacific region - right? - augmenting U.S. capabilities there. And the second is to share the burden. The U.S. has played a major role - the major role since World War II in that region. And again, this fits with the broader strategy. I mean, the U.S. has had what officials say is pretty strong engagement with other countries in the region. Next week, President Biden is hosting leaders of the Quad, which was another security grouping. That's Australia, the United States, Japan and India. A senior administration official who briefed reporters said this is about, you know, maintaining what the Biden administration calls the rules-based order.
CHANG: OK. And can I just ask, is China the main concern here behind this whole new security partnership?
RUWITCH: Well, the senior administration official says this is not aimed at anyone, not aimed at China. But, you know, that phrase that I mentioned a minute or two ago, a second ago, the rules-based order, is a bit of a tell. The Biden administration accuses China of trying to undermine the rules-based order. And really, if you look around the Asia-Pacific region, aside from North Korea, there's really nowhere else that the U.S., U.K., Australia talk about as a threat other than China. You know, they see a China that's been growing in strength militarily and economically and making its presence felt, whether it's building islands in the South China Sea or applying economic pressure to Australia, which has been happening in recent months. And so, you know, this partnership, these nuclear-powered subs will up the ante.
