The government has acknowledged the work of the opposition, including former prime minister Scott Morrison, amid reports Australia will buy its first nuclear submarines from the US under the AUKUS pact.
News Corp and Nine newspapers reported on Thursday that up to five nuclear subs will be built in the US as part of a plan expected to be announced next week.
In question time on Thursday, Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles would say only that the government would announce its deals with the US and Britain “very shortly”.
“I would like to acknowledge the member for Cooke (Mr Morrison) and I would like to acknowledge the Leader of the Opposition (former defence minister Peter Dutton) because this is a moment that we want to be at, and we know is a bipartisan moment of huge significance to our country,” he said.
“It is difficult to overstate the step that, as a nation, we are about to take.”
Under the deal, Australia will become just of the seventh country to have the ability to operate a nuclear powered submarine.
The American Virginia class subs are intended as a stopgap to provide Australia with nuclear-powered defences by the mid-2030s, The Australian reports. There were multiple reports in overseas media that the first US subs could rotate to Australia as soon as 2027.
Over the longer term, Australia will get British nuclear submarines based on a new design, sources told media.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will go to the US after his Indian visit to meet President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak for trilateral talks.
In India on Thursday, Mr Albanese confirmed he would meet the pair on Monday. It is expected to be in San Diego, and include unveiling new details in the 2021 AUKUS pact conceived as part of efforts to counter China in the Pacific region.
“On Monday, there will be a meeting of the AUKUS partners – between myself, President Biden and Prime Minister Sunak. In addition, in the United States, I will be having bilateral meetings with President Biden and Prime Minister Sunak,” he said, although he did not confirm further details.
“Australia will retain, absolutely, our sovereignty – absolute sovereignty, 100 per cent. it is very important [for] Australia, as a sovereign nation state – and that’s something that’s respected by all of our partners as well.”
San Diego is home to the US Pacific Fleet and a source familiar with the planning told Reuters the trilateral summit could involve a visit to a submarine.
While in India Mr Albanese also met Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the first day of the fourth cricket Test between the two nations in Ahmedabad. The Test is expected to host a record crowd for a cricket match, with the stadium’s capacity more than 130,000 people.
Mr Albanese will travel to Mumbai later on Thursday for a CEO forum with Australian and Indian business leaders.
While the US and Britain have agreed to provide Australia with the technology to deploy nuclear-powered submarines, the three allies have yet to say exactly how the capability will be transferred to Australia, which does not have a nuclear-propulsion industry.
AUKUS will be Australia’s biggest defence project and offers the prospect of jobs in all three countries. The exact make-up of the submarines is yet to be revealed, as well as when the vessels will become operational.
“The true intent of this capability is to provide for the stability and for the peace of our region. For the Pacific, for South-East Asia, for the Indian Ocean, for the broader Indo-Pacific region,” Mr Marles said.
“Because the defence of Australia doesn’t really mean that much less we can have the collective security.”
Despite an 18-month consultation period since AUKUS was first announced, questions remain over strict US curbs on technology sharing needed for the project.
These are a particular concern for its so-called pillar two dealing with advanced technology programs such as artificial intelligence and hypersonic weapons.
British and Australian officials said last week work was still needed to break down bureaucratic barriers to technology sharing in pillar two and the top Pentagon official for Asia, Ely Ratner, referred to “antiquated systems” governing US technology.
Dr Ratner said these needed to be revised “and we’re in the process of doing so”.
A State Department spokesperson said the US was “actively working to re-examine and streamline our processes to optimise our defence trade in the AUKUS context,” and added: “We do not anticipate any challenges in implementing AUKUS due to US export-control regulations.”
However, despite political will for reform in Mr Biden’s administration, experts question how easy it will be for AUKUS to avoid the attentions of mid-level State Department bureaucrats duty bound to protect US defence technology.
