AUKUS unmanned drone trials amid fresh China warnings

A senior US Defence official has warned of ‘unprofessional and unsafe behaviour’ by Chinese forces, revealing the PLA targeted US and allied planes and naval assets in almost 300 incidents.

US Navy Virginia Class submarine USS Mississippi on a routine port visit at Fleet Base West, Rockingham, Western Australia.

A senior US defence official has warned of “unprofessional and unsafe behaviour” by Chinese forces, revealing the People’s Liberation Army targeted US and allied planes and vessels in almost 300 incidents over two years.

US Defence Department Acting Deputy Under Secretary Mara Karlin, who confirmed AUKUS partners on Friday completed a successful trial of undersea drones, said the “top priority” under Joe Biden’s national ­defence strategy “focuses on the urgent need to sustain and strengthen deterrence focused on the People’s Republic of China”.  The trial at an undisclosed ­location involved unmanned underwater vehicles taking part in “mine countermeasure options, how to monitor pipelines, communication cables and other critical infrastructure”.

Flagging port visits to Australia by US Virginia-class submarines to ensure local bases are equipped to handle nuclear vessels, Dr Karlin noted “tremendous bipartisan support in Washington” and expressed confidence that congress would pass enabling legislation after Mr Biden requested an extra $US3.4bn ($5.35bn) to boost the domestic subs industrial base.

Dr Karlin held trilateral meetings in Canberra this week with Australian and British defence chiefs about advancing the AUKUS partnership, alongside representatives from the US ­Defence, State and Energy departments and the White House National Security Council.

She said nuclear subs and the second pillar of AUKUS covering advanced technologies including artificial intelligence, quantum, electronic warfare and cyber capabilities were critical to ensure the US and its allies have “got the ­advantages that we need”.

“We have seen some worrisome steps by China in terms of its technological investments. A ­couple of weeks ago we put out our annual China military power ­report, and we in particular noted the robust investments that Beijing is making in modernising and diversifying its nuclear arsenal,” Dr Karlin said.

“Outside of some investments it is making in its military, I would also note that we’ve seen actually a lot of unprofessional and unsafe behaviour by the PLA. Since 2021 … we’ve seen nearly 200 incidents against the US military of unsafe and unprofessional behaviour and how the PLA is behaving.

“In fact, it’s not just a story of the United States. When you include our allies and partners, it becomes nearly 300 different incidents.”

The AUKUS talks in Australia coincided with Anthony Albanese’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang in Beijing earlier this week.

The China trip followed the Prime Minister’s state visit to Washington, where Mr Biden and senior US officials warned about trusting Beijing and pushed back against Chinese coercion and ­aggression.

Amid rising concerns about growing co-operation between China, Russia, North Korea and Iran, Dr Karlin said “the US military is the strongest … in the world”.

“It is also the strongest military that we have seen in history,” she said. “I feel pretty confident about our undersea capabilities. And would note that it is meaningful for our partners to have such serious capabilities. And I think that sends a serious signal of how much we are prioritising stability and security and the need to deter those who might have a different vision.

Dr Karlin stressed “we don’t believe that any conflict is imminent or inevitable with the PRC”.

Ahead of an expected meeting between Mr Biden and Mr Xi at the APEC leaders’ summit in San Francisco next week, Dr Karlin said it is “incumbent for us to maintain active communications with them and to ensure that we are trying to have Indo-Pacific security and stability”.