Former Navy secretary Richard Spencer pushes for Australian crew on US submarines
A former US Navy secretary says the US must do more to help defend Australia.
US Navy submarines should patrol Australian territorial waters with Australian crew members aboard as part of a major step-up in American naval assistance ahead of the arrival of the country’s own nuclear submarines, a former US Navy secretary says.
Richard Spencer, US Navy secretary in the Trump administration between 2017 and 2019, said the challenge of a rising China meant the US must do more to help defend Australia’s maritime approaches before it acquired its own nuclear submarine fleet.
“I believe it is difficult to say ‘We are your ally and we are here to support you’ when you are sitting at the tip of the spear but it’s going to be 10 years until we deliver the critical piece of gear you need,’ Mr Spencer said.
“I believe US leadership wants AUKUS to work and in March the preliminary review will be complete and I would hope there are some immediate actions that could be taken, such as – as an interim solution – integrating Australian-US crews to the Virginia-class (submarines) patrolling specific Australian threat waters.”
Mr Spencer also called for the basing or extended deployment of US nuclear submarines in Australia, backed by a US Navy submarine tender to sustain the boats.
He said Australian investment in expanding US industrial capability to build submarines faster would also help the US to deliver Australian submarines faster, if that was the option Canberra chose.
His comments came as a US Virginia-class submarine, the USS Mississippi, docked in Western Australia for a week-long visit to provide respite for its crew.
Chief of Navy Mark Hammond said Australian personnel valued every opportunity to “interact, train, and operate together” with their US counterparts.
Mr Spencer’s comments come amid growing speculation that the future submarine under the AUKUS pact may be a single common design between the US, the UK and Australia, a highly ambitious option that would not see the first submarine built until the 2040s.
A common-design AUKUS submarine used by all three nations is likely to be among options presented to the government as part of the report by the Nuclear Powered Submarine Task Force. It will report by March.
Such an option would also require the earlier acquisition of interim submarines to prevent a capability gap between the retirement of the six Collins-class submarines and the arrival of a jointly designed boat.
The most likely interim options would be acquisition of several US Virginia-Class nuclear submarines off the production lines in the US as soon as possible to complement the Collins fleet, which will be given a life-of-type extension to keep them in service until the early 2040s.
Another option for an interim solution is to provide a home base for several US Navy Virginia-class submarines in Perth, a move that would anger China and represent a quantum leap in naval co-operation between Australia and the US. The government is building a dry dock facility in Henderson near Perth, which will be able to service large naval vessels including nuclear submarines.
China last week elevated its opposition to the AUKUS pact, calling it a “threat” to Australia’s relationship with China and a danger to “world peace”.
“If Canberra chooses to ignore Beijing’s concerns about AUKUS, the pact will remain a thorn in the side of China-Australia relations,’’ the state-controlled Global Times said.
In March, Defence Minister Richard Marles will announce how Australia intends to acquire eight nuclear-powered submarines. This will include timelines, costs and industrial plans for what will be the largest, most expensive project undertaken in Australia.
Mr Marles will also outline an interim plan to ensure Australia has an ongoing submarine capability ahead of the arrival of nuclear submarines.
The options for Australia’s future submarine include the US Virginia-class or its successor the SSN(X); Britain’s Astute-class or its successor the SSN(R); or a new jointly designed submarine to be used by all three countries’ navies.
British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace hinted in September, during a visit by Mr Marles, that the AUKUS nations might consider a future submarine that was common to all navies.
“It might have a bit of all three of us on it, so it may look like a submarine that none of us have on our stock,” Mr Wallace said.
Australian Strategic Policy Institute senior defence analyst Marcus Hellyer said there had been increasing talk about a joint submarine design, especially after Mr Wallace’s comments, but he said it would be a huge step for the British and US navies to agree on a common design, given that the US traditionally had larger submarines than Britain.
Mr Spencer, now global chairman of advisory firm Bondi Partners, said he believed the existing Virginia-class submarines would be the best and safest choice for Australia. He cast doubt on the ability of all three AUKUS nations to agree on a common-design submarine.
“The businessman in me stands up and applauds and says ‘bravo’ but the realist in me says ‘OK, sit down, champ, that ain’t going to happen in your lifetime’,” he said. “But I love the fact it is being discussed.”
Mr Spencer said it was vital Australians started training soon on Virginia-class submarines with a view to reaching 50 per cent Australian and 50 per cent US crews as soon as possible.
Additional reporting: Ben Packham
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