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AUKUS subs pact is basic to national, regional security

The news that two key US senators have warned President Joe Biden that the AUKUS agreement under which Australia will buy nuclear-powered submarines could threaten US security by stressing the nation’s submarine industrial base “to breaking point” is problematic for Australia.

In production terms, it is known that US submarine makers have little to no excess industrial capacity to prioritise submarines for Australia. That concern surfaced soon after AUKUS was announced by Scott Morrison, Mr Biden and former British prime minister Boris Johnson in September 2021. What is disturbing, however, is that the two senators’ statement is the first political setback for what has been widely accepted, on both sides of the Pacific and in Britain, as a vital development in safeguarding the security of the Asia-Pacific region in view of China’s unprecedented military build-up.

The two senators are highly experienced. They are Democrat Jack Reed, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, one of the key congressional panels that oversees the Pentagon, and Republican James Inhofe, a member of the committee, who has just retired.

“Over the past year, we have grown more concerned about the state of the US submarine industrial base as well as its ability to support the desired AUKUS SSN (nuclear submarines),” they wrote to the White House on December 21. “We believe current conditions require a sober assessment of the facts to avoid stressing the US submarine industrial base to the breaking point. We are concerned that what was initially touted as a ‘do no harm’ opportunity to support Australia and the UK and build long-term competitive advantages for the US and its Pacific allies may be turning into a zero-sum game for scarce, highly advanced US SSNs.” They warned against selling or transferring Virginia-class submarines to Australia before the US Navy had met its current requirement.

The US Navy has identified the need for 66 fast attack submarines, but its fleet has just 50, with two due to be retired. Rear Admiral Scott Pappano, a top US Navy officer overseeing submarine construction, has expressed similar concerns. As reported on Saturday, constraints on the defence industrial base capacity is an issue not only in the US but also globally.

Anthony Albanese and Defence Minister Richard Marles, who strongly support AUKUS and have established good relationships with the Biden administration, must clarify the situation with the US leadership as soon as possible. It goes to the heart of the ANZUS alliance and the AUKUS pact as the cornerstone of the nation’s security. In recent years, Australia has stepped up to play a more proactive role in regional security, especially in opening up the north of the continent to US forces and forging stronger defence ties with Japan.

The situation arises shortly before the Albanese government is due to announce its AUKUS submarine road map in March. That will coincide with the government’s response to the Defence Strategic Review being led by former defence minister Stephen Smith and former chief of the defence force Angus Houston.

While Australia has yet to announce whether it will pick the US or British Astute-class submarines under the AUKUS pact, the preferred option, reportedly, is the US Virginia-class attack sub, the SSN-774. Its range is limitless and its combat weapons – including torpedoes, Tomahawk missiles and much else – would be devastating to an enemy predator. The issue reportedly was central to discussions at last month’s AUSMIN meeting in Washington, where Mr Marles and Foreign Minister Penny Wong met their US counterparts, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin. Mr Austin flagged it was a US objective to ensure Australia received nuclear-powered boats “as quickly as possible” through the AUKUS alliance. He noted Canberra’s vulnerable position when it retired the Collins-class boats and promised to address it. ‘‘We will not allow Australia to have a capability gap going forward,” he said.

Read related topics:AUKUSJoe Biden

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Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/editorials/aukus-subs-pact-is-basic-to-national-regional-security/news-story/c7af264a62ddce947c84e88bab64f533