Part 2 of 4 Parts (Please read Part 1 first)
     By August of 2021, it was obvious that the French Naval Group were unable to satisfy the Australians. Australia decided to move on without the French.
      Australia’s next fleet of submarines will be nuclear-powered under an ambitious plan to scrap the controversial sixty-billion-dollar program to build twelve French-designed conventional submarines. Australia will utilize U.S. and U.K. technology to configure its next submarine fleet to replace its existing Collins class submarines with a ship more suitable to the deteriorating strategic environment.
     Australia, the U.S. and the U.K. are expected to jointly announce a new trilateral security treaty on Thursday. The focus of the treaty will be aligning technology and regional challenges. The new three-country security pact is called AUKUS. It will probably be seen by China as an attempt to counter China’s regional influence, especially in the South China Sea. The nuclear submarines will probably be based in the state of Western Australia.
     Australia’s adoption of nuclear-powered submarines will have serious political and technological challenges because there is no domestic nuclear industry in Australia.
     Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison convened a National Security Committee of Cabinet on Tuesday ahead of the expected coordinated announcements in Washington, D.C. and London. Cabinet ministers attending the Committee meeting were given special Covid exemption to travel to Canberra for the top-secret discussion. In a very unusual move, the Prime Minister also invited Labor Leader Anthony Albanese and three of his senior shadow ministers to be briefed on the submarine plan.
     U.S. media reports say that U.S. President Joe Biden is scheduled to deliver “brief remarks about a national security initiative”. The President will speak on Wednesday afternoon in Washington, D.C. local time.
     Greg Sammut is the Australian Defense Department’s general manager of submarines. A well-placed Australian military source has released a statement that Sammut has issued an urgent call for a “clear lower decks” meeting to discuss these dramatic developments. Another senior official said that “top secret” briefings have been arranged at the Defense Department on Thursday.
      Inside Australian military circles there is speculation that the transition to a new nuclear submarine project could initially be overseen by Retired U.S. Vice Admiral William Hilarides. He is the chairman of the Australian government’s Naval Shipbuilding Expert Advisory Panel. Government sources say that Mr. Morrison attempted to set up a phone call with French President Emmanuel Macro on Wednesday, but the call had to be delayed to Thursday. The news of Australia’s decision was delivered to Paris by Greg Moriarty, the Secretary of the Defense Department.
     Allied naval presence is anticipated to increase north of Australia as part of a coordinated tri-continental push back against China’s recent territorial aggression, especially in the South China Sea. Australia, the U.S. and the U.K. are expected to reorient their submarine and warship fleets to counter China’s increasing regional presence. Regional diplomatic missions across Canberra are expected to be briefed on the announcement on Thursday afternoon.
Please read Part 3 next