Australia will decide on use of its Aukus submarines, US Pacific commander says

It’s ‘Australia’s call’ deciding the use of the submarines ‘when and if the time comes’, said US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral John Aquilino
Canberra insists the Aukus submarines are being acquired to strengthen Australia’s defence and maintains the nation will have sovereignty over them

Australia

Su-Lin Tanin Singapore

Published: 7:30am, 10 Apr 2024

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It will be entirely up to Australia to decide the use of its Aukus nuclear-powered submarines, said the commander of US military forces in the Pacific, after a senior US official raised eyebrows last week by suggesting the vessels could be deployed in a potential war over Taiwan.

“I think that will be Australia’s call, how they decide to utilise their operational units when and if the time comes,” Admiral John Aquilino said when asked to confirm US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell’s claims during a Tuesday interview with Sydney-based think tank the Lowy Institute.

However, Aquilino added that the United States and Australia “coordinate almost every day” and were more “interoperable” than any other bilateral partnerships.

Admiral John Aquilino, US Indo-Pacific Command commander, speaks at Camp HM Smith in Hawaii. Photo: AP

Aquilino, who leads the US Indo-Pacific Command, also reaffirmed that the sovereignty of Australia was of “critical importance to the United States”, adding that Aukus pact has the ability to deliver “any mission” that Australia wanted.

Aukus is a trilateral alliance between Australia, Britain and the US established in 2021 in response to growing Chinese influence in the region.

Canberra has steadfastly said that the submarines were being acquired to strengthen Australia’s defence and maintains that the nation will have sovereignty over the vessels.

The government of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has previously denied promising the US it would go to war over Taiwan in return for the Aukus submarines, amid domestic anxieties that the deal could start a regional arms race.

Despite the US, UK and Australia’s long-held stance about Aukus’ purpose, Campbell drew links between the pact and a possible conflict in the Taiwan Strait when he spoke at the Centre for a New American Security in Washington last week.

02:52

China warns Aukus against going down ‘dangerous road’ over nuclear-powered submarine pact

“Those practical circumstances in which Aukus has the potential to have submarines from a number of countries operating in close coordination could deliver conventional ordinance from long distances,” he said.

“Those have enormous implications in a variety of scenarios, including in cross-strait circumstances, and so working closely with other nations, not just diplomatically, but in defence avenues, has the consequence of strengthening peace and stability more generally.”

On Tuesday, Aquilino said there had been no change in the US’ commitment to the Aukus pact, following news that Washington had planned to slow its submarine production and was late in its submarine delivery to Australia.

(From left) Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, US President Joe Biden, and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak hold a joint press conference on the procurement of nuclear-powered submarines under Aukus last year. Photo: dpa

Since the agreement was announced, Australian sailors have graduated from “nuke school” with skills to operate nuclear reactors, Australian engineers have visited US shipyards to study nuclear maintenance, the US has deployed Virginia-class submarines to Australia, and Australian service members have been training at the Guam naval base, Aquilino said.

“The US commitment is iron clad,” he added.

Aquilino reiterated that the US’ national security strategy views China, Russia – due its “1,700-mile coastline” – and North Korea, as well as violent extremism in the south of the Philippines, as threats in the region.

Last month, Chinese nationalist tabloid Global Times said Aquilino should stay out of the Indo-Pacific after he claimed China was part of an “axis of evil”, saying his comments posed threats to regional peace and fuel hostility towards the country.

This comes as Australia, the US and Britain were reportedly mulling Japan’s membership in Aukus, a move that China – which has opposed the pact from the start – expressed “grave” concerns about.

“We oppose relevant countries cobbling together exclusive groupings and stoking bloc confrontation. Japan needs to earnestly draw lessons from history and stay prudent on military and security issues,” Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said on Monday.

Her comments preceded Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s meeting in Washington with US President Joe Biden on Wednesday, focusing on regional deterrence, before they both are set to attend a trilateral summit on Thursday with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr.