There are few surprises in the Aukus nuclear-powered submarine programmed announced by Rishi Sunak, his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese, and US president Joe Biden overnight. Australia will get its fleet of nuclear submarines. The United States will supply Virginia-class boats to Australia for the 2030s; US Virginias and Royal Navy Astute-class boats will be stationed in Western Australia later this decade. And the three partners, under British leadership, will develop a new ‘Aukus-class’ of nuclear submarines for the 2040s and beyond.
It’s a hugely ambitious programme, and geopolitically astute. A risk-averse Sir Humphrey Appleby might have even called it ‘courageous’. Rishi Sunak, however, was right when he told Biden and Albanese at the San Diego naval base, ‘it will mean three fleets of submarines working together across both the Atlantic and Pacific, keeping our oceans free, open, and prosperous for decades to come’. The potential global security dividend justifies the massive investment.
Whoever wins the presidency next year will be responsible for bedding down the Aukus pact
From Australia’s perspective, the big before-and-after difference in the announcement is the estimated cost.
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