Four years after having broken his contract for the acquisition of 12 French conventional submarines, Australia is still impatiently waiting for the concretization of the Aukus alliance established with the United States and the United Kingdom.
Last June, the Trump administration had informed Canberra and London that the project would examine again in the context of growing concerns about the ability of the United States to honor its commitments. Starting with the supply to Australia from 2032 from three to five American submarines with nuclear virginia class propulsion.
But according to the Japanese newspaper Nikkei Asia, the Pentagon would finally be about to validate this program that represents an investment for Australia of 368 billion Australian dollars (207 billion euros) for three decades. The exam should be completed before a meeting scheduled for October 20 between Donald Trump and Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese.
Confidence Australia
If an American official has not confirmed the information, simply stating that the contract “is still in study”, the trust reigns on the Australian side: “We know that Akus is in the interest of Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. It is an association that serves the interests of the three nations and that will considerably strengthen peace and security in our region,” said Anthony Albans.
Australia Defense Minister Richard Marles assured him that “Aukus is materializing, there is no doubt.”
“I repeatedly repeated that the Aukus project is going well, it is progressing at a sustained pace, it reaches all the established objectives and we are convinced that it will be the way to follow so that Australia acquires its future underwater abilities,” he added.
The review of the Alliance aimed at evaluating its compatibility with Trump’s doctrine “America First”, the shipyards in the United States already experienced difficulties in satisfying the needs of the US Navy. UU. According to The Guardian, Washington also took advantage of this review to obtain clarifications about the way Canberra would react in case of confrontation between the United States and China over Taiwan.
Once American submarines have received, Australia will have to make their own nuclear propulsion submarines with the help of the United Kingdom. To do this, Canberra announced in mid -September an investment of 12 billion Australian dollars (6.8 billion euros) to modernize its Henderson shipyard located near Perth.
Source: BFM TV
