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Australia open to leasing nuclear submarines; France fumes over 'lies'

Dutton said China was pumping out submarines and frigates and aircraft carriers
Australia open to leasing nuclear submarines; France fumes over 'lies'
Australia open to leasing nuclear submarines; France fumes over 'lies'

ITDC INDIA EPRESS/ ITDC NEWS The announcement by Australia, the US and UK last week that the three nations would create a new strategic alliance is continuing to cause ripples in geopolitics.

The partnership, referred to as AUKUS, envisages the US and UK providing assistance to Australia to build nuclear submarines and the three nations cooperating in the fields of cutting-edge research. The partnership is being considered as a reaction to the increase in Chinese activity in the Indo-Pacific region.

The decision to cooperate on nuclear submarines led to Australia scrapping a contract with France's Naval Group to build 12 diesel-electric submarines. The cancellation of the contract, which was estimated to be worth $65 billion, triggered furore in Paris.

Despite the outrage in France, the Australian government has defended its decision. On Sunday, Australian media reported the country could decide to lease nuclear submarines from the AUKUS partner nations when its own vessels were being built.

Australian Defence Minister Peter Dutton was asked about the new submarine partnership on the Sunday Agenda programme on Sky News Australia. When asked whether Australia would consider leasing nuclear submarines until its own vessels are ready, Dutton said, "The short answer is yes."

The AUKUS partnership envisages delivering at least eight nuclear-powered submarines to the Royal Australian Navy. However, an indigenous fleet of nuclear submarines for the Royal Australian Navy would not be ready for delivery until the late 2030s.

Dutton explained, "The talk that you can just buy a nuclear-powered submarine off the shelf, of course, is just not accurate or correct."

Defending the decision to opt for nuclear submarines, Dutton explained, "The Chinese are pumping out submarines and frigates and aircraft carriers at a record rate. So the rest of world now for a period of time has really stepped up their production of those assets and that unfortunately is the dynamic in which we are operating in at the moment.”

Dutton told Sky News "It is not going to be a cheap project but maintaining peace is not something that comes for free."

Australian Finance Minister Simon Birmingham said Australia would be able to recoup the cost of the nuclear submarine project. He was quoted by ABC News as saying, "We don't have all of the final costs because we are going through a comprehensive 12-18-month process in terms of assessing what type of platform, what type of design, what type of infrastructure is going to best be able to be transferred to Australia by the UK and US."

Meanwhile, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Saturday that allies "don't treat each other with such brutality, such unpredictability, a major partner like France ... So there really is a crisis," AP reported. The deal between Naval Group and Australia, announced in 2016, was one of the biggest arms export contracts in the past decade. At the time, the contract for 12 submarines was described in France as the “contract of the century".

Le Drian referred to “duplicity, disdain and lies” when referring to the sudden decision to scrap the contract with Naval Group. He denied Australia had held discussions with France prior to announcing the AUKUS partnership.

French ambassador to Australia Jean-Pierre Thebault, who has been recalled following the spat, described the scrapping of the contract as "a huge mistake, a very, very bad handling of the partnership".

Interestingly, the deal with France had been criticised by Australian experts and media outlets for massive cost escalations and slippage in delivery timelines.

Australia follows India?

If Australia does lease nuclear submarines, it would become the second country to do so. The Indian Navy first leased a nuclear submarine from the erstwhile Soviet Union in 1988, returning the vessel, called the INS Chakra, in 1991. In 2012, the Indian Navy leased another nuclear submarine from Russia, also christened the INS Chakra, for a period of 10 years. The Chakra was returned to Russia earlier this year.

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