The federal government is gearing up for a major announcement on the way forward for Australia’s $100 billion nuclear-powered submarine plans under the AUKUS alliance.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese left India on Saturday for the United States, where he will join President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in San Diego on Monday for the landmark statement.
The three countries first announced the AUKUS plan in 2021 as part of efforts to counter China in the Indo-Pacific region, with the US and United Kingdom agreeing to provide Australia with the capability to deploy nuclear-powered submarines.
Australia is expected to buy up to five US Virginia class nuclear-powered submarines.
It has been speculated there will be multiple stages to the plan, with at least one US submarine visiting Australian ports in the coming years and the advent of a new class of submarines built with British designs and American technology.
On Saturday, Mr Albanese said the project was also about Australian jobs, particularly shipyard and manufacturing work in South Australia and Western Australia.
Asked about the importance of having a second dry dock in WA to complement one in Sydney as the submarines arrive, Mr Albanese pointed to the announcement to come.
Asked also about the enormous cost, Mr Albanese said he would explain to the Australian people why it was worthwhile given the deficit hole in the national budget.
“Yes, we will,” he said in New Delhi before departing for the US.
“Australia faces real challenges. We have said very clearly and explicitly that there are major pressures on expenditure, not just in defence, but in other areas as well.”
In the lead-up to the 2023/24 budget release in May, Mr Albanese reiterated the government needed to be prepared to “make some difficult decisions”.
Mr Albanese last week rejected China’s criticism of the submarine plans, saying Australia could boost its military power while improving relations with Beijing as well as its relationships with other countries in the Indo-Pacific.
“It’s a consistent position, we need to ensure that Australia’s defence assets are the best they can be,” he said.
“At the same time, we need to build relationships. We’re doing that throughout the Indo-Pacific … we’ve improved our relationship with China in recent times as well.”
Also on the agenda
Mr Albanese will also discuss with Mr Biden and Mr Sunak Russia’s war against Ukraine, climate change action and global economic challenges including inflation and energy prices.
“Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom have a shared interest in preserving peace and upholding the rules and institutions that secure our region and the world,” he said in a statement on Saturday.
This is Mr Albanese’s first official visit to the US as prime minister.
Defence Minister Richard Marles has described the AUKUS project as the “biggest step forward in our military capability that we’ve had since the end of the Second World War”.
“There is nothing which gives any adversary a second thought more than a capable submarine,” he said.
— AAP
