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Australia to buy five US nuclear submarines in ambitious new pact
The announcement came Monday at an event at a San Diego, California, naval base where President Joe Biden hosted Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
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US President Joe Biden (right) meets with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (left) during the AUKUS summit at Naval Base Point Loma in San Diego California on March 13, 2023. (AFP/Jim Watson)
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ustralia has unveiled plans to buy up to five US nuclear-powered submarines, then build a new model with US and British technology under an ambitious plan to bulk up Western muscle across the Asia-Pacific in the face of a rising China.
The announcement came Monday at an event at a San Diego, California, naval base where President Joe Biden hosted Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
With a US Virginia-class nuclear submarine moored behind the trio's podium, Biden said the United States had "safeguarded stability in the Indo-Pacific for decades" and that the submarine alliance would bolster "the prospect of peace for decades to come."
As Biden stressed, Australia, which joined a newly formed alliance known as AUKUS with Washington and London 18 months ago, will not be getting nuclear weapons.
However, acquiring stealthy submarines powered by nuclear reactors puts Australia in an elite club and at the forefront of US-led efforts to push back against Chinese military expansion.
Albanese said the deal represents the biggest single investment in Australia's defense capability "in all of our history."
The submarines are expected to be equipped with cruise missiles that can strike foes from long distances, offering a potent deterrent to would-be attackers.
