A US official has declined to explicitly guarantee Australia will have full control of the Aukus nuclear-powered submarines, saying he won’t get “into some of the minutiae of various questions that are out there”.
But the assistant secretary of state, Daniel Kritenbrink, played down broader concerns about whether a future US president would approve or block the planned sale of at least three Virginia class submarines to Australia in the 2030s.
Kritenbrink said during a visit to Canberra on Tuesday that “no one should doubt the strength” of the US commitment to the Aukus pact, which also includes the UK and collaboration on other advanced defence technologies.
During a press conference at the US embassy, Kritenbrink was questioned about past statements by US officials, including Aukus architect Kurt Campbell, who said last year: “When submarines are provided from the United States to Australia, it’s not like they’re lost – they will just be deployed by the closest possible allied force.”
Campbell, a former White House official who is now the deputy US secretary of state, said last month the submarines had “enormous implications in a variety of scenarios, including in cross-strait circumstances” – a reference to Taiwan.
Asked to reconcile those statements with the Australian government’s insistence that Canberra would have full control of the submarines and had not made any military pre-commitment to the US, Kritenbrink said Aukus was “an extraordinary achievement” that would help deter coercion.
“I think rather than getting into some of the minutiae of various questions that are out there, I would say what we’re squarely focused on is our shared vision for a peaceful, stable, prosperous region,” said Kritenbrink, who is responsible for east Asian and Pacific affairs.
“I’m confident that the Aukus agreement, our delivery of submarine capability to Australia, the other work that we’re doing together [will] contribute to a more stable, peaceful and prosperous region – that’s in everyone’s interest.”
Aukus critics – including former prime ministers Malcolm Turnbull and Paul Keating – have long contended Australia’s sovereignty would be eroded because of long-term reliance on the US for the nuclear propulsion technology.
But the Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has repeatedly assured the public that the deployment of military assets in the event of any conflict would be “a decision for Australia as a sovereign nation, just as the United States will maintain its sovereignty and the United Kingdom will maintain its”.
The defence minister, Richard Marles, said last year a war between the US and China over the future of Taiwan would be “so grave” that Australia could not be “passive bystanders”, but he denied any pre-commitment to join such a conflict.
Marles has argued Australia must work with the US and other partners in the Indo-Pacific to avoid any “failure of deterrence” akin to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The Chinese government has long criticised Aukus, arguing the arrangement would only add to regional tensions. It has refused to rule out the use of force to seize Taiwan, a self-governed democracy of 24 million people that Beijing regards as its territory.
Kritenbrink said the purpose of his visit to Canberra was to “demonstrate the strength of America’s commitment to this region and to our alliance and partnership with Australia”.
He said the US was “deeply concerned” about an incident in which a Chinese fighter jet was accused of dropping flares close to an Australian helicopter in the Yellow Sea (between China’s eastern coast and South Korea’s western coast) on Saturday.
Kritenbrink said the incident was part of a broader trend in which China’s military was becoming “more aggressive and assertive at operating in waters and airspace on the periphery of China”.
He praised Australia for helping to enforce UN sanctions over North Korea’s nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles programs, and urged China to do more to implement those sanctions “rather than engaging in conduct that is viewed as unsafe”.
Kritenbrink said the US had “attempted to step up our game in a pretty significant way across the Pacific islands” but said China was pursuing security deals that lacked transparency. He raised concerns “about the implications of those agreements, including for the sovereignty of the countries involved”.
