Photo credit: Scott Morrison.
Early this morning, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced that Australia is beginning its enhanced trilateral security partnership with the United Kingdom and the United States.
This comes as the first initiative under AUKUS, enabling Australia to deliver a conventionally-armed nuclear-powered submarine capability, leveraging decades of experience from the US and UK.
The submarines themselves, as announced by Morrison, are geared to be built in Adelaide, South Australia.
Morrison continued to write on Facebook he is very clear in stating that Australia is not seeking to acquire nuclear weapons.
Morrison wrote that managing a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines will allow Australia to play a stronger role in contributing to the stability and prosperity of the region.
This announce will see the scrapping of the current $90 billion Future Submarines deal with Naval Group which was to involve the construction of 12 submarines in Adelaide over future years.
“Military modernisation is occurring at an unprecedented rate in the Indo-Pacific. Capabilities are rapidly advancing and their reach expanding. The technological edge enjoyed by Australia and our partners is narrowing,” wrote Morrison.
“For more than 70 years, Australia, the UK, and the US, have worked together, along with other important allies and partners, to protect our shared values and promote security and prosperity. Today, with the formation of AUKUS, we recommit ourselves to this vision.”
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