"A new United States congressional report openly contemplates not selling any nuclear submarines to Australia as promised under the Aukus agreement because America wants to retain control of the submarines for a potential conflict with China over Taiwan. The report by the US Congressional Research Service, Congress's policy research arm, posits an alternative military division of labour under which the submarines earmarked for sale to Australia are instead retained under US command to be sailed out of Australian bases."
"One of the arguments made against the US selling submarines to Australia is that Australia has refused to commit to supporting America in a conflict with China over Taiwan. Boats under US command could be deployed into that conflict. The report, released on 26 January, cites statements from the Australian defence minister, Richard Marles, and the chief of navy that Australia would make no promises that Australia would support the United States in the event of war with China over Taiwan."
US policymakers are weighing an alternative to selling Virginia-class nuclear attack submarines to Australia by retaining those boats under US command and operating them from Australian bases. One rationale is that Australia has not committed to join US forces in a conflict with China over Taiwan, which could make sold submarines unavailable to the United States during a crisis. Removing those submarines from Australian control would keep them immediately deployable for US operations and preserve deterrence and warfighting capability. Under the current Aukus plan Australia would acquire three to five US Virginias beginning in 2032 and later build eight domestically in the early 2040s.
Read at www.theguardian.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]