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The UK said on Friday it will join Australia in a 50-year commitment to the nuclear-powered submarine pact with the United States. The move reinforces the agreement as Washington signals uncertainty about its long-term role.
UK eyes more jobs and increased exports
The new British-Australian treaty will support both countries' submarine programs for the next 50 years, generating tens of thousands of jobs. British Defense Secretary John Healey said the deal could deliver up to 20 billion pounds (€23 billion, $27 billion) in British exports over the next 25 years.
Healey, who is visiting Australia with Foreign Secretary David Lammy, described the AUKUS as one of Britain's most important defense partnerships.
"This demands a new era of defense, an era in which indivisibility of security in the Indo-Pacifc alongside the security of the Euro-Atlantic, in which the deep relationships like ours with you must be reconfirmed," he added.
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the two countries were working to shape collective security in the Indo-Pacific region.
The 2021 AUKUS agreement calls for Australia to acquire at least three Virginia-class submarines from the United States within 15 years and eventually to manufacture submarines of its own.
Australian Foreign Minister Wong said the two countries were working to shape collective security in the Indo-Pacific regionImage: Emmanuel Croset/AFP/Getty ImagesBut in the US, critics question why Washington is prioritizing the sale of nuclear-powered submarines to Australia rather than strengthening its own naval fleet.
The US, which brokered the trilateral pact in 2021, is currently reviewing its commitment. Washington has urged Australia to boost defense spending amid growing concerns over China's military expansion in the Indo-Pacific region.
Edited by Sean Sinico
