【By Observer News, Xiong Chaoran】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 U.S., where he stated that advanced military equipment such as submarines and stealth fighter jets heavily rely on rare earth elements, and claimed that Australia and the U.S. are committed to reducing their reliance on China's critical minerals.

"Whether we like it or not, the reality is that our most critical operations in the military depend on the availability of critical 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 U.S. achieve supply chain diversification. "The geological conditions allow many countries, including Australia, the U.S., and Canada, to benefit. Given that we have advanced mining companies, a deep capital market, and the determination of Washington and Canberra to turn the situation around, I believe we can achieve a high level of resilience in critical mineral resources."

Previously, Gao Jiajun, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that China's policies on rare earths comply with international practices. We are willing to continue strengthening dialogue and cooperation with relevant countries and regions in the field of export control, and jointly maintain the stability and security of the global supply chain.

Australian Ambassador to the United States Kevin Rudd at CSIS event, screenshot

Kevin Rudd is an Australian Labor Party politician and diplomat who has served as leader of the Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs, and two terms as Prime Minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010 and again in 2013. Due to his major in Chinese history and literature during university and his fluent Mandarin, Rudd is known as a "China expert." His Chinese name is derived from the phonetic similarity of his English name Kevin Rudd (Ke Wen Lu).

In his speech, Rudd used the U.S. Navy's newest nuclear-powered fast attack submarine, the Virginia-class submarine, as an example: "Producing one Virginia-class submarine requires about 4.5 short tons (one short ton is approximately 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 fighter jet, including engine magnets and targeting radar and lasers, are also made using advanced rare earth derivatives and processed materials.

On March 13, 2023, then-U.S. President Biden held talks with then-British Prime Minister Sunak and then-Australian Prime Minister Albanese in San Diego, California, at the U.S. Navy base, regarding the so-called AUKUS trilateral security partnership, and officially announced the plan to equip Australia with nuclear submarines.

According to the plan, the U.S. will sell three Virginia-class nuclear submarines to Australia starting in the early 2030s, and may add 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 expected to be equipped in the late 2030s and early 2040s respectively. The entire project is expected to be completed by 2055, costing $24.5 billion.

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

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

Illustration: On July 30, 2004, the first Virginia-class nuclear submarine returned to Groton's Electric Boat shipyard after its first sea trial in Connecticut, USA. CNN

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

According to South China Morning Post on August 10, India and Australia are currently negotiating to establish joint ventures based on the key mineral investment partnership initiated in 2022, covering not only procurement but also collaborative processing of rare earth elements crucial to the automotive, electronics, and defense sectors.

The report stated that in this competition, India and Australia are increasingly approaching to establish a strategic mineral partnership, positioning themselves as forces to counter China's dominance. China accounts for more than 60% of the global rare earth mining output and about 90% of the processing output.

In recent years, India has been increasing its diplomatic efforts to consolidate its own rare earth supply chain. At the same time, Australia has positioned itself as a leading alternative supplier of critical minerals, striving to break China's monopoly in the global market.

However, it seems that the U.S. relying on Australia for help in the rare earth sector might be a distant solution, still requiring many years.

For example, the BBC reported in August this year that Iluka Resources, a company based in Australia, has accumulated a large amount of rare earth inventory in recent years, but this is just the simpler part. Processing or refining rare earths is another challenge. The company's director said that although the construction of a refining plant is already planned, it will take two more years to build and put into operation.

The Wall Street Journal reported in March this year that during the Biden administration, the Australian graphite mining company Syrah Resources received multiple batches of loans from the U.S. government worth tens of millions of dollars. However, as China firmly maintains its dominant position in the key mineral sector, these agreements and projects may be delayed or forced to suspend operations, resulting in significant losses for the company.

Syrah Resources' graphite processing facility in Louisiana, USA. The Wall Street Journal

On April 2, 2024, U.S. President Trump raised the "tariff baton" worldwide, imposing so-called "reciprocal tariffs" with tariff rates reaching up to 145% against China.

Subsequently, China immediately introduced a series of measures to precisely retaliate, in addition to increasing tariffs, it also implemented export controls on seven types of medium and heavy rare earth-related items, including samarium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, lutetium, scandium, and yttrium. The Financial Times at the time cited industry insiders who revealed that China was establishing an export licensing system. In December 2024, China also announced strict controls on exports of gallium, germanium, antimony, super-hard materials, and graphite-related dual-use items to the U.S.

On June 7, the spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Commerce stated that China legally implements export controls on rare earth-related items, aiming to better safeguard national security and interests, fulfill international obligations such as non-proliferation, and reflects China's consistent position of upholding world peace and regional stability.

The spokesperson pointed out that rare earth-related items have dual civilian and military uses, and implementing export controls conforms to international practices. China notes that with the development of industries such as robotics and new energy vehicles, the demand for medium and heavy rare earths in the civilian sector is continuously growing. As a responsible major country, China fully considers the reasonable demands and concerns of various countries in the civilian sector, and reviews applications for export licenses of rare earth-related items in accordance with laws and regulations, having approved a certain number of compliant applications, and continues to strengthen the approval process for compliant applications.

The spokesperson said that China is willing to further strengthen communication and dialogue on export controls with relevant countries, promoting convenient and compliant trade.

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