CANBERRA(London Post with AAP) Dr.Majid Khan-Australia’s defense minister insists it never promised war with the United States in exchange for nuclear submarines used to guard vital shipping lanes.
Under a landmark military agreement with the US and UK, Australia will command eight of her nuclear submarines over the next 30 years.
The AUKUS deal, which is expected to cost up to $368 billion, has sparked an angry response from China, which accuses Australia of following a “path of error and peril”.
Former Prime Ministers Paul Keating and Malcolm Turnbull also criticized the deal, questioning how Australia would maintain its sovereignty if its submarines depended on US technology and personnel.
However, Secretary of Defense Richard Marls said the comment was “simply wrong”, adding that there was no agreement to join the United States during a possible future conflict with China.
“I couldn’t be more unequivocal than that … in all that we do, we maintain complete sovereignty for Australia,” he said.
“The moment that there is a flag on the first of those Virginia-class submarines in the early 2030s is the moment that submarine will be under the complete control of the Australian government of the day.”
Mr Marles said while the submarines could be used in the case of a conflict, the main intent was for them to protect vital trade routes through the South China Sea and contribute to regional stability.
“A lot of our trade goes to China, but all of our trade to Japan (and) to South Korea – two of our top five trading partners – goes through the South China Sea,” he said.
“The maintenance of the rules-based order as we understand it, freedom of navigation, freedom of overflight is completely in Australia’s interest and we need to make sure that we have a capability which can back up that interest.”
Trade Minister Don Farrell, who met with his Chinese counterpart Wang Wentao in February, said he was hopeful discussions to improve Australia’s trade relations with Beijing wouldn’t be affected by the AUKUS announcement.
“Everything is pointing in the right direction for stabilisation of the relationship and I’d be very confident that process will continue,” Senator Farrell said. “We want a stable relationship with China, we want a mature relationship with China.
“At the same time, we want to ensure that everything we do is in our national interest and that we can address national security issues.”
Senator Farrell said he is confident the $20 billion in trade sanctions currently imposed by China in 2020 can still be resolved.
But opposition defense spokesman Andrew Hasty said it was important to remain realistic following the Chinese government’s comments on the AUKUS deal.
“I don’t think our relationship is the best right now,” he said.
“I think AUKUS makes it difficult for [the government] to go back to where it wants to go [with China].”
As part of the AUKUS contract, Osborne Shipyards in South Australia will become the partner’s fourth production line for nuclear submarines, alongside facilities in the United States and the United Kingdom. Flinders University of Adelaide has signed an agreement with the University of Manchester and the University of Rhode Island to operate a nuclear engineering education program.
SA Prime Minister Peter Malinaukas said the partnership means his state will become home to international nuclear experts before construction begins, as students learn the skills they need to work on ships. .
