International collaboration for a new strike force. The United States, Australia and the United Kingdom will partner for a new generation of submarines, dubbed SSN-AUKUS, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan announced Monday.
These devices, nuclear-powered and conventionally armed, will involve "significant investments" in the three countries, he added in an interview with journalists. Nuclear-powered submarines are difficult to detect, can travel great distances for long periods of time, and can carry sophisticated cruise missiles. The goal, Jake Sullivan assured, is not "to go to war" but "to deter any conflict."
"Betrayal" at the France
Australia had no nuclear-powered submarines, nor nuclear technology, whether military or civilian. The conclusion of the AUKUS alliance, with the corollary of Canberra's cancellation of the contract for the acquisition of 12 French submarines, had given rise in 2021 to a diplomatic crisis with the France, which had cried "treason".
The case has since subsided, by dint of intense diplomatic maneuvers, including a state visit by French President Emmanuel Macron to the United States in early December. Joe Biden also called his French counterpart on March 7, and the two men discussed, according to the White House, their "cooperation" in the Indian Ocean and Asia.
The France's outrage has given way to criticism of China, which is engaged with the United States in a bitter economic and strategic rivalry.
- World
- Army
- Submarine
- Australia
- USA
- United Kingdom