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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will meet with US President Joe Biden and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak this morning to announce the purchase of US-manufactured, nuclear-powered attack submarines to modernise its fleet.
The three leaders are in San Diego to lock in the agreement that comes amid growing concerns about China's influence in the Indo-Pacific region.
The AUKUS partnership, announced in 2021, paved the way for Australia's access to nuclear-powered submarines, which are stealthier and more capable than conventionally powered boats, as a counterweight to China's military buildup.
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Australia is purchasing up to five Virginia-class boats as part of AUKUS, according to two people familiar with the arrangement who spoke on the condition of anonymity to preview the plans. A future generation of submarines will be built in the UK and in Australia with US technology and support. The initial plans call for all of the Australian subs to be constructed in Adelaide, Australia.
The US would also step up its port visits in Australia to provide the country with more familiarity with the nuclear-powered technology before it has such subs of its own.
Biden will also hold bilateral meetings with Albanese and Sunak, an opportunity to coordinate strategy on a range of global challenges, including Russia's war in Ukraine and the global economy.
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The secretly brokered AUKUS deal included the Australian government's cancellation of a $90 billion contract for a French-built fleet of conventional submarines, which sparked a diplomatic row within the Western alliance that took months to mend.
Meanwhile, China has argued that the AUKUS deal is in violation of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, arguing that transfer of nuclear weapons materials from a nuclear-weapon state to a non-nuclear-weapon state is "blatant" violation of the spirit of the pact.
Australian officials have pushed back against the criticism, arguing that it is working to acquire nuclear-powered and not nuclear-armed submarines.
"The question is really how does China choose to respond because Australia is not backing away from what it — what it sees to be doing in its own interests here," said Charles Edel, a senior adviser and Australia chair at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies.
"I think that probably from Beijing's perspective they've already counted out Australia as a wooable mid country. It seemed to have fully gone into the US camp."
