The United States wants to deliver up to five nuclear-powered submarines to Australia. They are meant to counter Chinese buildup in the region. In the long term, both countries also want to develop a joint model with Great Britain.

Australia wants to buy up to five nuclear submarines from the US and, in the longer term, build a new generation of nuclear submarines together with the US and Britain.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese spoke at a meeting with US President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in San Diego, California about “increasing single investment in the defense capability of Australia throughout our history.”

Biden said the United States had guaranteed stability in the Indo-Pacific for decades. The nuclear submarine alliance with Australia and Britain “will enhance the prospect of peace for decades.” He emphasized: “These submarines are nuclear powered, they do not have nuclear weapons.”

Deal part of a security alliance

Specifically, Australia wants to buy three conventionally armed, nuclear-powered Virginia-class submarines from the United States. An option to purchase two more submarines is also planned. US submarines will be delivered during the 2030s.

In addition, Australia, the US and Great Britain want to build a new generation of nuclear submarines together. These will also be nuclear powered, but conventionally armed. The project, based on a British submarine model, bears the name of SSN-Aukus. Britain will deliver the first of these submarines to the British Navy in the late 2030s, Australia will deliver its first submarine to the Australian Navy in the early 2040s.

American surrender angered France

The submarine deal is part of the Aukus Indo-Pacific security alliance founded in September 2021 by Australia, Britain and the United States. With the agreement, the three countries want to counter the growing influence of China in the South Pacific. The region is increasingly becoming the arena for competition between China and the United States. In a joint statement, Biden, Albanese and Sunak stressed that the alliance is committed to a “free and open Indo-Pacific” that is “secure and stable.”

Beijing has been trying to establish a greater military, political and economic presence in the South Pacific for some time. China has strongly criticized the Aukus alliance. The Beijing government describes it as “dangerous” and an attempt to corner China.

Australia wants to modernize its fleet with nuclear-powered submarines. The deal is extremely important to Australia because the country itself does not have the know-how to build nuclear submarines. Nuclear powered submarines can travel great distances and are difficult for the enemy to locate. In the course of Aukus’s founding, Australia had canceled a long-planned multi-billion dollar submarine deal with France. This provoked outraged reactions from the French government and temporarily put a great strain on relations between Paris and Washington.