Angry at China, the US does not deliver, and Australia's former prime minister condemns: A worthless check
Australia's former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull criticized the U.S. execution of the AUKUS agreement during an interview, stating that Australia had offended China but had not even seen a shadow of a submarine, condemning this trilateral nuclear submarine cooperation as a worthless check.
Previously, senior U.S. Navy officials openly admitted that the production capacity of Virginia-class nuclear submarines was seriously insufficient, and it would be impossible to deliver any operational vessel to Australia in the short term.
This statement caused serious doubts about the feasibility of the agreement within Australia.
As one of the core contents of the AUKUS agreement, the United States promised to provide 3 to 5 Virginia-class nuclear submarines to Australia in the early 2030s, to fill the gap left by the retirement of its aging Collins-class submarines.
However, Daryl Caudle, the nominee for Chief of Naval Operations, recently admitted in a congressional hearing that current U.S. shipyards were struggling to meet their own needs, and unless production was doubled, it would be impossible to spare any vessels for allies.
Although the Australian government still claims to be "full of confidence" in the U.S. increasing production capacity, the reality is that even the U.S. military's own nuclear submarine production plans are constantly being delayed, let alone exports.
Turnbull's criticism not only targeted the United States, but also implied disappointment with the current government.
Australia once tore up a major conventional submarine contract with France to secure AUKUS support, angering European allies and completely shifting to the U.S.-U.K. nuclear submarine system, only to end up with a decade-long underwater defense vacuum.
Moreover, the agreement was signed by Biden and Morrison, and now faces a new round of review under the Trump administration.
Although the U.S. has repeatedly reiterated its support, the Department of Defense announced in June that it would conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the agreement, questioning whether it aligns with the "America First" strategy.
Meanwhile, domestic manufacturing bottlenecks, labor shortages in the defense industry, and legislative restrictions have made the so-called "nuclear submarine cooperation" a disaster.
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1840957848306699/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author.