Australia, Britain sign 50-yr AUKUS treaty amid US review
Australia and Britain signed a new 50-year treaty on Saturday to cement the existing trilateral AUKUS nuclear submarine program with the United States, reaffirming their commitment to the plan amid a U.S. review of the three-way pact.
The treaty will enable comprehensive cooperation on the design, build, operation, sustainment, and disposal of new AUKUS submarines, as well as supporting port visits and the rotational presence of a British Astute-class submarine at a navy base near Perth on Australia’s west coast, according to a joint statement.
The new bilateral treaty between London and Canberra sits under the existing trilateral AUKUS security agreement involving Washington. Under the plan announced by the three countries in 2021, Australia will purchase nuclear-powered submarines from the United States in the early 2030s and deliver its first domestically built vessels in the early 2040s.
The strengthened commitment to the AUKUS submarine program comes after the United States announced a review of the trilateral AUKUS pact in June, seeking to ensure the agreement aligns with President Donald Trump’s “America First” agenda.
Speaking at the signing ceremony in the southeast Australian city of Geelong on Saturday, British Defense Secretary John Healey said the new treaty will fortify the Indo-Pacific and strengthen the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
“This is a treaty that will define the relationship between our two nations and safeguard the securities of our countries for our children and our children’s children to come,” said Healey.
At a press conference in Sydney on Friday, Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles stressed that it was “the most natural thing in the world” for a new government to undertake a review, while Healey said that both Australia and Britain welcome it as an opportunity for the Trump administration to renew their commitment to the pact.
Though as things are moving, its high time that Australia starts looking at the only country which is the true harbinger of peace and Security in the entire Indian Ocean Region and even the Indo Pacific ….that is India.
