How AUKUS submarine deal sealed at the G7 summit
Source: Mailonline 11:29 EDT 16 Sep 2021
Australian PM Scott Morrison asked Biden for secret US nuclear tech to take on China at G7 after first getting Boris onboard - then ditched 'rip off' $90bn French contract
This is the moment that Australia, the UK and the US put pen to paper on their new military alliance as , and met on the sidelines of June's G7 summit in Cornwall.
It was the culmination of an 18-month plan devised by Mr Morrison to acquire his country's first nuclear-powered submarines, allowing Australia to push back against an increasingly aggressive .
The plot is thought to have been hatched in early 2020 when Mr Morrison asked a team of scientists, Navy top brass, engineers and other experts to look again at a deal Australia had signed with with France to buy 12 diesel-powered subs and to see whether better options existed.
Ultimately, the task force concluded that going nuclear - an option that Australia has long-resisted because it lacks a domestic nuclear industry and is committed to nuclear non-proliferation - would be a better option than paying France $90billion for its vessels, after the cost ballooned from the $50billion they first agreed on.
In late 2020, Mr Morrison instructed his defence chiefs to begin 'engaging the systems' by briefing the UK and the US on his plans, according to a source who spoke with the , leading to a conversation with Boris Johnson in May this year.
Mr Johnson agreed to set up talks with Joe Biden at the G7 a few weeks later, with the trio finally meeting on June 13 - the final day of the summit. It was during this meeting that Biden agreed for the first time in more than 50 years to share the secrets of America's nuclear submarines with a third country. Britain is the only other nation to have acquired such technology.
Australia is now set to get its hands on at least eight nuclear-powered submarines which will likely cost less than the $7.5billion-per vessel that France was offering. While the exact design and costs of Australia's subs have yet to be revealed, US Virginia-class nuclear subs cost around $4.5bn each and UK Astute-class $2.6bn each.
Scott Morrison meeting with Boris Johnson and Joe Biden at the G7 summit in Cornwall back in June, where the trio put pen to paper on a new military alliance that will give Australia its first nuclear-powered submarines
The meeting was the culmination of an 18-month plan to acquire the technology by Mr Morrison (left), who first pitched the idea to Boris Johnson (right, with wife Carrie Symonds) before arranging a three-way sit-down with Biden
Australia is now set to acquire at least eight nuclear-powered submarines to present a counter-balance to Beijing's growing navy, and will also be sharing other advanced military technologies with Washington and London
The pact does not make the design of Australia's new submarines clear, but they will be based on previous US and UK designs. Pictured above is a cross-section of Britain's Astute-class nuclear attack subs, which is likely to mirror the new vessels
Scott Morrison and Boris Johnson look chummy at the G7 in Cornwall
The alliance will also be sharing technologies on cyber defence, artificial intelligence, quantum computing, long-rage missiles and 'additional undersea capabilities' such as sensors and drones.
Mr Morrison has said he will spend the next 18 months developing the capacity to safely handle nuclear technology, though has not given a timetable for constructing the subs or when he first one will come online.
He did say that the subs will be built in Adelaide - at least partly - resolving a row that broke out with France about where some of the construction jobs would be located.
The deal could also avoid the politically-difficult issue of Australia having to develop a domestic nuclear industry to support the subs by relying instead on the UK and US - both of whom have such industries.
However, Mr Morrison did not give explicit guarantees on domestic nuclear production - only saying that Australia will not be acquiring nuclear weapons.
France has reacted angrily to the news, which will mean its own deal is now defunct with only $2billion received. Foreign minister Yves Le-Drian called it a 'stab in the back', likening Biden's behaviour to Trump.
Beijing also condemned the news, with foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian denouncing 'Cold War zero-sum thinking' which he said 'seriously undermines regional peace and stability and intensifies the arms race.'
'The export of highly sensitive nuclear submarine technology by the United States and Britain to Australia once again proves that they use nuclear exports as a tool of geopolitical games and adopt double standards, which is extremely irresponsible,' Zhao added.
But Taiwan and Japan reacted joyfully, saying it is necessary to provide 'security' for the South China Sea region.
Taiwan - which considers itself to be an independent nation but is viewed by Beijing as a self-governing Chinese province - fears invasion from the mainland after Xi Jinping committed himself to 'reunifying' the island in a 2019 speech, saying he reserves the right to use force if necessary.
The UK and US have already been conducting increased freedom of navigation patrols through the Strait of Taiwan and around the Spratly and Paracel Islands - which contain Chinese military bases - and the addition of at least eight nuclear submarines to Australia's fleet will bolster these efforts.
The pact also side-lines New Zealand, led by left-wing Jacninda Arden, who was left out after adopting a set of increasingly soft China stances in recent years. She has now vowed to ban the new Australian submarines from its waters under her country's long-standing anti-nuclear policies.
China has inflamed tensions in the South China Sea in recent years by expanding its claimed territory, to the objection of its neighbors in the Asia-Pacific
Britain and America are to help Australia build a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines as part of an unprecedented alliance known as AUKUS to combat China (pictured, a British Astute-class nuclear sub which is likely to mirror the Australian design)
Jacinda Ardern will to BAN Australia's new nuclear-powered submarines from New Zealand waters
Australia's new nuclear submarine fleet won't be welcome in New Zealand, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has warned.
The new submarines are the centrepiece of a new security deal - known as AUKUS - agreed to by Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom and announced on Thursday morning.
New Zealand has been left out of the alliance, despite being a member of the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing network, along with AUKUS members and Canada.
The Kiwi leader said the formation of AUKUS 'in no way changes our security and intelligence ties with these three countries'.
'We welcome the increased engagement of the UK and US in the region and reiterate our collective objective needs to be the delivery of peace and stability and the preservation of the international rules based system,' she said.
Ms Ardern was briefed on the alliance by Scott Morrison on Wednesday night.