Australia conducts maintenance of US nuclear submarine

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Australia conducts maintenance of US nuclear submarine

A US nuclear-powered submarine will undergo maintenance in Australia for the first time, a key step by AUKUS partners to deter aggression in the Indo-Pacific, the defence ministers of Australia, Britain and the ******* States said.

*********** personnel trained with the ******* States and Britain over the past year ahead of the submarine maintenance at HMAS Stirling in Western Australia, involving personnel from the three nations.

“Our navies are committed to reinforcing the same guiding principles within Australia that have allowed the ******* States and ******* Kingdom to safely operate nuclear-powered ships for nearly 70 years,” the ministers said in a ****** statement.

The partners in the AUKUS pact were committed to setting the highest nuclear non-proliferation standard for acquisition of a conventionally-armed, nuclear-powered submarine capability for Australia, they added.

The statement cited US defence secretary Lloyd Austin, *********** Defence Minister Richard Marles and Britain’s defence secretary, John Healey.

A US Virginia-class submarine, Hawaii, and a US service ship with equipment and maintenance crew have arrived at HMAS Sterling for the maintenance, generally done in US submarine ports.

The *********** base will host a rotational presence of one British Astute-class and up to four US Virginia-class submarines from 2027.

That will build Australia’s experience in operating a fleet of conventionally-armed, nuclear-powered submarines from next decade.

Allaying concern about nuclear waste storage within Australia, the defence department said no radiological material would be transferred ashore during maintenance.

Last week, the AUKUS partners reduced defence export controls between Australia, Britain and the ******* States, removing a hurdle in the path of the maintenance task.

Australia will acquire US nuclear-powered ******* submarines and jointly develop with Britain and the ******* States a new class of conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarine over the next two decades.

The rotations of US nuclear submarines through Australia boosts deterrence in the Indo-Pacific, where China is putting the Philippines under pressure in the disputed waterway of the South China Sea, US lawmaker Michael McCaul said last week.

The chair of the US House Foreign Affairs Committee, McCaul was speaking during a visit to Sydney.

US submarine maintenance in Australia is a step helping to “better deter aggression in the region and uphold the rules-based international order”, the ministers added in Friday’s statement.

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