Australia to Build Eight Nuclear-Powered Submarines

Project to be executed under a new Indo-Pacific security partnership with the United States and Britain that analysts say will likely rile China.

Australia is set to build eight nuclear-powered submarines under a new Indo-Pacific security partnership with the United States and Britain that analysts say will likely rile China, which will see the pact as an attempt to contain it. In announcing the new security group, the leaders of the United States, Australia, and Britain did not mention China, but Washington and its allies are seeking to push back against its growing power and influence, particularly its military buildup, pressure on Taiwan, and deployments in the contested South China Sea.

China’s U.S. embassy said that countries “should not build exclusionary blocs targeting or harming the interests of third parties”. The trilateral pact, including access to U.S. nuclear submarine technology, will be seen in Beijing as a threat, said Asia Society Policy Institute senior fellow Richard Maude.

New Zealand Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern welcomed the focus on the Indo-Pacific but said Australia’s new nuclear-powered submarines would not be allowed in its territorial waters under a long-standing nuclear-free policy. Speaking at a News conference, Ardern said she was pleased to see that the eye has been turned to their region from partners they work closely with, adding it was a contested region and there was a role that others can play in taking an interest in our region.