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Bloomberg
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his Australian counterpart, Anthony Albanese, are planning to go to Washington DC in mid-March potentially to unveil a proposal for Australia’s nuclear submarine project, according to a person familiar with the matter.
President Joe Biden will host the British and Australian leaders, and the allies are expected to announce their preferred design to replace Australia’s aging Collins-class fleet, according to the person.
The three nations are sharing classified military capabilities to allow Australia to construct and deploy new nuclear-powered submarines in the Pacific region. The project is part of the the so-called Aukus agreement, launched in 2021 as a trilateral alliance to counter Chinese military power in the Pacific. Australia’s federal parliamentary schedule means Albanese could travel between March 10 and 19, while Sunak’s government’s budget statement on March 15 means he is unlikely to leave the country immediately beforehand.
Sunak’s office said a visit to the US is possible, but said no date had been set and would not confirm the reason for the visit. Neither Albanese’s office nor the White House responded to requests for comment. Max Blain, Sunak’s spokesman, declined to comment on the plan when asked by reporters in London on Thursday.
The project has taken longer than expected, with US restrictions on technology and information-sharing applying to the other Aukus members even though they are partners in the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing community. The announcement of the alliance also upset France, which saw project to build non-nuclear submarines with Australia ditched as part of the new alliance.
Australia’s foreign and defense ministers are visiting the UK this week and are expected to give a news conference Thursday alongside their British counterparts in the southern coastal city of Portsmouth.