Australia’s prime minister Anthony Albanese, US president Joe Biden and UK prime minister Rishi Sunak visited San Diego to announce details of the AUKUS submarine deal.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, US President Joe Biden, and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak were in San Diego to announce details of the AUKUS submarine deal. Here’s an edited and abridged transcript of the press conference unveiling the deal:It’s an honour to be here to welcome Prime Minister Albanese and Prime Minister Sunak. And it’s my honour to welcome you both to the United States as we take the next critical step in advancing the Australia, US, UK partnership – AUKUS.
In fact, our leadership in the Pacific has been a benefit to the entire world. We’ve kept the sea lanes and skies open and navigable for all. We’ve upheld basic rules of the road that fuelled international commerce. And our partnerships have helped underwrite incredible growth and innovation. We’ve undertaken this project working hand-in-glove with the International Atomic Energy Agency and with Director General [Rafael] Grossi [director-general of the IAEA]. Australia will not produce the nuclear fuel needed for these submarines. We have set the highest standards with the IAEA for verification and transparency, and we will honour each of our countries’ international obligations.
We’ll also begin to increase our port visits to Australia. In fact, as we speak, the nuclear-powered sub the USS Asheville is making a port call in Perth. And later this decade, we will also be establishing a rotational presence of US and UK nuclear-powered subs in Australia to help develop the workforce Australia is going to need to build and maintain its fleet.
Nuclear propulsion is tested and safe. The United States and the UK have used it for nearly 70 years ... with a spotless record. Between the US and UK, all of our nuclear-powered ships have travelled the entire globe ... more than 150 million miles. That’s going to the moon 300 times. AUKUS has one overriding objective: to enhance stability in the Indo-Pacific amid rapidly shifting global dynamics. And this first project ... is only the beginning. More partnerships and more potential, more peace and security in the region lies ahead.
From early in the next decade, Australia will take delivery of three US Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarines. This is the first time in 65 years and only the second time in history that the United States has shared its nuclear propulsion technology. And we thank you for it. Opportunities that will shape and strengthen and grow Australia’s economy for decades, and create around 20,000 direct jobs for Australians from many trades and specialisations. Our future security will be built and maintained not just by the courage and professionalism of our defence forces, but by the hard work and know-how of our scientists and engineers, our technicians and programmers, our electricians and welders.
Our AUKUS partnership is not just about the US and UK sharing their most advanced submarine capability with Australia ... it’s also about building on the expertise within our three nations so that we can achieve things greater than the sum of our parts.. All three nations stand ready to contribute, and all three nations stand ready to benefit.
Our historic AUKUS partnership speaks to our collective and ongoing determination to defend those values and secure that future today, in the years ahead, and for generations to come – a journey that will strengthen the bonds between our nations as friends, as peers, as leaders. But ultimately, the defence of our values depends, as it always has, on the quality of our relationships with others. And those alliances will be strengthened through AUKUS – the most significant multilateral defence partnership in generations.
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