SAN DIEGO – The President Joe Biden took his most aggressive move to date on Monday to counter the Chinese military expansion in the Asia-Pacific region, formally unveiling plans with Britain and Australia for the development and distribution nuclear-powered attack submarines.
Confronted by the USS Missouri nuclear submarine at Point Loma Naval Base in San Diego, Biden and the leaders of the other two countries described the naval partnership as a way crucial confront China at a time of heightened tension with Beijing.
It will create, US officials said, a “nuclear administration” among allies.
“The United States has safeguarded stability in the Indo-Pacific for decades to the huge benefit of nations across the region,” Biden said, adding:
“We are demonstrating once again how democracies can provide our security and prosperity, and not just for us, but for the entire world.”
For the first time in 65 years, Biden said, the United States vwill share the technology at the heart of its nuclear submarines, allowing Australia to build powerful war machines that will become fleets capable of taking on Chinese submarines in the South China Sea.
Initially, Australia will purchase three submarines like Missouri, eventually building a new version, called AUKUSwith British and American help.
The move is a sign of the degree to which Biden and his aides are investing in the strategic military planning with allies and partners to counter China’s growing capabilities and prepare for a possible armed crisis around Taiwan, the de facto independent democratic island that Chinese leaders claim as their territory.
US officials say the submarines’ capabilities will also help deter aggression North Korea and Russiawhich conducted naval exercises with China in the region.
Nuclear submarines can stay underwater longer and travel farther than conventional submarines without surfacing.
They represent a substantial improvement over the Australian Navy’s six diesel-electric submarines, which will soon be out of service.
Nuclear-powered submarines are the main element of the AUKUS agreement, which also includes long-term cooperation plans artificial intelligence, quantum computing, cyber warfare and missiles.
Australian officials said on Monday the country would spend between 178,000 and 245,000 million dollars under the nuclear submarine agreement.
Monday’s announcement was a key step by the three English-speaking nations to deepen the so-called AUKUS partnership announced 18 months ago.
The deal had angered French authorities, whose $66 billion submarine deal with Australia was canceled in the process.
Next to Biden, in front of the flags of the three countries, the Australian Prime Minister, Antonio Albaneseand the British Prime Minister, Rishi SunakThey highlighted the economic benefits of the deal, which they say will provide thousands of well-paying jobs for those who design, build and operate submarines.
“Our future security will be built and maintained not only by the courage and professionalism of our defense forces, but by the hard work and knowledge of our scientists and engineers, our technicians and programmers, our electricians and welders,” he said. Albanian.
Sunak – who also invited Biden to Northern Ireland on Monday to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement that ended decades of conflict in that country – said the new alliance would cement efforts by democratic nations to contain destabilizing behaviors.
“The challenges we face have only grown,” he said.
“Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, the growing assertiveness of China, the destabilizing behavior of Iran and North Korea threaten to create a world defined by danger, disorder and division.
In the face of this new reality, it is more important than ever to strengthen the staying power of our countries”.
The plan firmly incorporates Britain into American and Australian military strategies in the Asia-Pacific region, likely to further put London at odds with Beijing in the years to come.
“It is linking the United Kingdom, a European power, with Australia, a Pacific power, with the United States as the glue holding this new partnership together,” he said. Jake SullivanWhite House National Security Advisor.
“And it’s a manifestation of a broader stimulus the president has given to European allies to get more involved in Asia, and to Asian allies like Japan and Korea to get more involved in Europe.”
In recent months, Biden and his aides have announced that they will help Japan strengthen its military after decades of Tokyo’s antiwar stance, and deploy U.S. troops and equipment to multiple non-U.S. military bases in Philippines.
The Biden administration has also worked to strengthen cooperation among the countries of the Quadruple Alliance, a nonmilitary partnership that includes the United States, India, Japan and Australia, all countries increasingly concerned about expansionary territorial claims and intentions. .
Reaction
The Beijing authorities have accused the United States of trying to inhibit China’s growth. Xi Jinping, the Chinese leader, said at a political meeting in Beijing last week that the United States is leading Western countries to undertake “containment, a fence and a complete suppression of China,” China’s state news agency Xinhua reported.
Mao Ning, spokesman for China’s foreign ministry, told a news conference on Thursday that the submarine deal “constitutes a serious risk of nuclear proliferation, undermines the international non-proliferation system, exacerbates the arms race and harms peace and stability in Asia-Pacific”.
Sullivan said Biden was planning to try to talk to Xi after the meeting on China policy.
He added that US officials had been talking to their Chinese counterparts about AUKUS for the past 18 months, but that communications between the two nations, including over military channels, has been poorer than Washington would like.
This is partly due to fights over a Chinese spy balloon and to US allegations that China may be sending weapons to Russia.
China should “be prepared to ensure regular and routine communication and consultation guidelines at high levels,” Sullivan said.
Until the new deal, the United States only shared nuclear-powered submarine technology with Britain, as part of a defense agreement signed in 1958.
Washington officials say it is one of the “crown jewels” of the US military and defense industry.
US and Australian officials say Australia would have full sovereign control over any submarines it buys.
Australian commanders plan to have some US and British servicemen work on the ships to facilitate the process learning.
Australia will first buy three nuclear-powered submarines from the United States – with an option to add two more – to be delivered from 2032, Sullivan said.
Some Australian politicians are demanding that the country’s leaders guarantee that the deal will be a major source of employment.
Officials in Canberra, Australia’s capital, said on Tuesday the program would create 20,000 jobs over the next three decades.
The United States and Great Britain to supply Australia with nuclear fuel for its submarines, while adhering to strict non-proliferation of nuclear material for weapons, US officials said.
As part of the deal, the United States and Britain will rotate nuclear-powered submarines into the port of Perth, Australia, by 2027.
One such submarine, the USS Asheville, is now visiting port, ahead of its formal rotation schedule.
The Australian engineers will also work at manufacturing sites in the United States and Great Britain.
The first British-built submarines of the new class are due for delivery to the British Navy in the late 1930s, before Australia builds the next batch at a new Adelaide shipyard.
Australian authorities hope to have their first submarine ready in 2042.
Biden has requested $4.6 billion in federal funds between now and 2028 to expand U.S. submarine manufacturing capacity, half of which is expected to go to production and half to maintenance, and also to Australia. will contribute to this enlargement.
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Source: Clarin
Mary Ortiz is a seasoned journalist with a passion for world events. As a writer for News Rebeat, she brings a fresh perspective to the latest global happenings and provides in-depth coverage that offers a deeper understanding of the world around us.