Kevin Rudd Wants Australia to Be the U.S. Rare Earth Fire Brigade

On August 20 local time, Kevin Rudd, former Prime Minister of Australia and current Australian Ambassador to the United States, participated in an event organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in the United States. During the event, he stated that advanced military equipment such as submarines and stealth fighters heavily relies on rare earth elements, and claimed that Australia and the United States are committed to reducing their dependence on China for critical minerals.

"Whether we like it or not, the reality is that our most critical actions in the military field depend on the availability of key minerals and rare earth supplies," he added: "As a U.S. ally, Australia is ready to help, and we have the capability to do so."

According to Nikkei Asia, Rudd also insisted that Australia is fully capable of helping the United States achieve supply chain diversification. "The geological conditions benefit many countries, including Australia, the United States, and Canada. Given that we have advanced mining companies, deep capital markets, and the determination of the governments in Washington and Canberra to turn the situation around, I believe we can achieve a high level of resilience in critical mineral resources."

Rudd is an Australian politician and diplomat from the Labor Party. He has held important positions such as leader of the Australian Labor Party and Foreign Minister, and served as Prime Minister of Australia twice, from 2007 to 2010 and again in 2013. Due to his major in Chinese history and literature during university and his fluent Chinese, Rudd is known as a "China expert." His Chinese name comes from the phonetic translation of his English name Kevin Rudd (Ke Wen Lu).

In his speech, Rudd used the U.S. Navy's latest nuclear-powered fast attack submarine, the Virginia-class submarine, as an example: "Producing one Virginia-class submarine requires approximately 4.5 short tons (1 short ton is about 0.9 metric tons) of critical minerals - rare earths."

He added that similarly, a large portion of the components of the F-35 supersonic stealth attack fighter, including engine magnets and targeting radar and lasers, also use advanced rare earth derivatives and processed products in large quantities.

On March 13, 2023, then-U.S. President Biden held talks with then-British Prime Minister Sunak and Australian Prime Minister Albanese at the U.S. Naval Base in San Diego, California, regarding the so-called "AUKUS Trilateral Security Partnership" and officially announced the plan to equip Australia with nuclear submarines.

According to the plan, the United States will sell three Virginia-class nuclear submarines to Australia starting in the early 2030s, with the possibility of adding two more in the future. At the same time, the U.S., UK, and Australia will cooperate to develop a new type of nuclear submarine, with the UK and Australia respectively equipped in the late 2030s and 2040s. The entire plan is expected to be completed by 2055, costing $245 billion.

Nikkei Asia reported that the Virginia-class nuclear submarine is considered the pinnacle of U.S. military technology and a key asset for maintaining underwater superiority over China.

According to the Pentagon, a Virginia-class nuclear submarine requires 9,200 pounds (about 4,173 kilograms) of rare earth elements; the F-35 aircraft requires more than 900 pounds (about 440 kilograms) of rare earth elements, and an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer requires 5,200 pounds (about 2,300 kilograms) of rare earth elements.

According to data from the U.S. Geological Survey, China has the highest reserves of rare earth elements, at 44 million tons, almost half of the global total of 90 million tons. Australia ranks fourth with 5.7 million tons, following Brazil and India. The United States ranks seventh with 1.9 million tons.

Original article: www.toutiao.com/article/1841028769658892/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author.