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(The Guardian) First Aukus defence ministerial meeting takes place in Washington
The US defence secretary, Lloyd Austin, has hailed “great progress” in talks on Australia acquiring nuclear-powered submarines. He also reiterated a pledge to ensure Australia “acquires this capability at the earliest possible date”.
This morning Austin joined the Australian defence minister, Richard Marles, and the UK defence secretary, Ben Wallace, at the Pentagon for the first Aukus defence ministerial meeting.
The meeting comes a day after annual high-level talks between Australia and the US. Austin told today’s meeting that Australia, the US and the UK’s trilateral security partnership was an “historic endeavour”: The need for Aukus is even clearer today. More than ever, our three countries share of similar outlook on the key challenges and opportunities confronting our world. Aukus will enhance our shared ability to sustain peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific, and since creating this trilateral security partnership our defense forces, industries, and scientific communities have been hard at work. Over the past 15 months we’ve made great progress toward identifying a pathway for Australia to acquire conventionally armed and nuclear-powered submarines. Today on behalf of President Biden, I want to reaffirm the US commitment to ensuring that Australia acquires this capability at the earliest possible date, and in adherence with the highest nonproliferation standards.
Marles told the meeting Aukus reflected “a shared mission between our three countries to work together to pursue advanced military capability, and do so at a time where the strategic circumstances faced by the world are as complex and precarious as really we’ve seen since the end of the second world war”: And central to that is Australia being able to acquire a nuclear-powered, highly capable submarine and we are deeply grateful for the work that we’ve been able to do with both the UK and the US to enable Australia to acquire that capability. And it’s not lost on us the significance of the US and the UK, working together and transferring this technology to Australia. And there has been an enormous amount of work being done by our officials to bring this about, and obviously to bring today about. I think as we talk today, we’re all going to speak to the fact that we’re on track to be able to make this announcement in respect of what will be the optimal pathway for Australia to take in the first part of next year, which is what we have always intended to do.
Wallace said the UK would “do everything we can in our capability to help support you, get you that capability, to bring to the best Australia’s skills and its workforce to do so”.
The US defence secretary, Lloyd Austin, has hailed “great progress” in talks on Australia acquiring nuclear-powered submarines. He also reiterated a pledge to ensure Australia “acquires this capability at the earliest possible date”.
This morning Austin joined the Australian defence minister, Richard Marles, and the UK defence secretary, Ben Wallace, at the Pentagon for the first Aukus defence ministerial meeting.
The meeting comes a day after annual high-level talks between Australia and the US. Austin told today’s meeting that Australia, the US and the UK’s trilateral security partnership was an “historic endeavour”: The need for Aukus is even clearer today. More than ever, our three countries share of similar outlook on the key challenges and opportunities confronting our world. Aukus will enhance our shared ability to sustain peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific, and since creating this trilateral security partnership our defense forces, industries, and scientific communities have been hard at work. Over the past 15 months we’ve made great progress toward identifying a pathway for Australia to acquire conventionally armed and nuclear-powered submarines. Today on behalf of President Biden, I want to reaffirm the US commitment to ensuring that Australia acquires this capability at the earliest possible date, and in adherence with the highest nonproliferation standards.
Marles told the meeting Aukus reflected “a shared mission between our three countries to work together to pursue advanced military capability, and do so at a time where the strategic circumstances faced by the world are as complex and precarious as really we’ve seen since the end of the second world war”: And central to that is Australia being able to acquire a nuclear-powered, highly capable submarine and we are deeply grateful for the work that we’ve been able to do with both the UK and the US to enable Australia to acquire that capability. And it’s not lost on us the significance of the US and the UK, working together and transferring this technology to Australia. And there has been an enormous amount of work being done by our officials to bring this about, and obviously to bring today about. I think as we talk today, we’re all going to speak to the fact that we’re on track to be able to make this announcement in respect of what will be the optimal pathway for Australia to take in the first part of next year, which is what we have always intended to do.
Wallace said the UK would “do everything we can in our capability to help support you, get you that capability, to bring to the best Australia’s skills and its workforce to do so”.
