US, allies announce submarine deal to counter China in Pacific

BLOOMBERG

The leaders of the US, the UK and Australia unveiled an ambitious multibillion-dollar plan for a new fleet of nuclear-powered submarines that will ply the Pacific in an effort to blunt China’s growing assertiveness in the South China Sea and around Taiwan.
“Forging this partnership, we’re showing again how democracies can deliver our own security and prosperity, and not just for us but for the entire world,” President Joe Biden said as he stood in front of the USS Missouri nuclear submarine at Naval Base Point Loma in San Diego.
He said the pact demonstrated the countries’ shared commitment to ensuring that “the Indo-Pacific remains free and open.”
The deal, which Biden announced with UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, calls for the US to sell Australia as many as five of its Virginia-class submarines and then, two decades from now, for Canberra and London to deliver a next-generation submarine — to be dubbed the SSN Aukus — together. That sub won’t carry nuclear-tipped missiles in keeping with Australia’s status as a non-nuclear-armed state.
In a testament to the US faith in the three nations’ partnership, Washington also plans to share some of its nuclear-submarine technology for the first time. The new submarine will be based on the UK’s design for its next-generation attack submarine, the SSNR, but will also incorporate technologies from subs like the Missouri.
The announcement represents the culmination of the Aukus partnership, which was announced 18 months ago as part of a broader US push to boost its military assets in the Pacific and send a signal that it wouldn’t be daunted by China’s push to reclaim land and build military installations on disputed islands and atolls across the South China Sea.
The push has will likely further inflame US-China tensions, which are running high over a host of issues, including Biden’s insistence that the US would help Taiwan if it’s attacked by China as part of an effort to bring the island under Beijing’s control.