The US, Australia and the UK are challenging China with a fleet of nuclear submarines

The President of the United States Joe Biden and the Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom and Australia Rishi Sunak and Anthony Albanese announced on Monday in California the development of a fleet of nuclear submarines under the great defense pact Aukusstrategic alliance for counter China’s growing military capabilities in the Indo-Pacific.

This announcement thus becomes the first concrete step of Aukus since his signing September 2021. Biden and then Prime Ministers Boris Johnson and Scott Morrison. Along with increased defense cooperation between the three countries, the pact seeks to provide Australia with up to eight nuclear submarines that can remain underwater for months. According to Albanese’s statements last month, the move will provide the “biggest leap” in Australia’s military capabilities to date.

So this country will first buy up to five American submarines it will then acquire several British units and, at the same time, develop its capabilities in the production of these submarines with the aim of being able to produce its own ships around 2040.

Despite the fact that Aukus’ goals do not explicitly mention China, the agreement has received criticism from Beijing. Last Thursday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said the submarine deal “represents serious nuclear proliferation, undermines the international non-proliferation system, worsens the arms race and harms peace and stability” in the Asia-Pacific region.

Crisis with France

When it was announced, so did the pact met with criticism from France. The submarine development agreement led to the cancellation of a €55,000 million contract for Canberra to buy diesel submarines from French shipping company Naval. According to Australia, the decision was made because it would be “reckless” to proceed with a purchase that did not have the approval of Australian intelligence. The incident sparked a diplomatic row between Australia and France, which accused the Australian administration of “lying and treason”.

Before the meeting of the three leaders at the Point Loma naval base, Sunak took the opportunity to offer the latest information on the so-called The Integrated Review of Defense and Foreign Policy, a five-year strategic plan, in which the UK will invest £5,000m (about 5,700 million euros) to modernize its nuclear arsenal and replenish the weapons sent to Ukraine.