Source: Global Times

[Global Times Report by Jiang Ailing] "Pentagon Considering Scrapping Nuclear Submarine Agreement with Australia and UK." Bloomberg reported on the 11th local time with this headline, stating that the US Department of Defense has initiated a review of the "AUKUS" nuclear submarine agreement signed during the Biden administration. The Department of Defense statement said that this review aims to assess whether the agreement reached in 2021 is "consistent with the President's America First" agenda.

On September 15, 2021, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia announced the formation of a new security alliance named "AUKUS." As the key cooperation project of this alliance, the United States and the United Kingdom will provide nuclear submarine technology to Australia to assist it in forming a nuclear-powered submarine fleet. Bloomberg reported that according to the "AUKUS" agreement, Australia is expected to purchase five U.S. "Virginia-class" nuclear submarines. In the future, Australia and the UK will also jointly develop a new generation of submarines - the SSN-AUKUS class nuclear submarines.

On March 16, the U.S. Navy's "Virginia-class" attack submarine, USS Minnesota, sailed along the west coast of Australia. Photo source: U.S. media.

Bloomberg's latest report stated that, however, the U.S. nuclear submarine construction plan has long faced problems of schedule delays and cost overruns. Some officials from the Trump administration also expressed skepticism about the rationality of this plan. Bloomberg reported that a senior U.S. congressman disclosed last year that the new "Virginia-class" submarine project was already two years behind schedule and was expected to exceed the budget by $17 billion by 2030.

Two anonymous U.S. defense officials revealed that this review is being led by the third-highest-ranking official at the Pentagon, Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl. He had previously publicly questioned the value of the project. Last year, he criticized the project as "insane" on social media.

The report mentioned that a spokesperson for Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles stated in a declaration that Canberra and London have been informed that the U.S. Department of Defense will initiate this review.

For a long time, many foreign media outlets have claimed that Australia's attempt to acquire nuclear-powered submarines is to counter the so-called "China threat," but this claim lacks evidence. On the contrary, Australia's expanding military spending and the risk of nuclear proliferation have raised doubts and concerns both domestically and internationally. According to The Australian, former Prime Minister Paul Keating previously harshly criticized the U.S.-U.K.-Australia nuclear submarine cooperation as "the worst deal ever." The "AUKUS" initiative seeks to maintain American hegemony by containing China, which imposes a huge cost on Australia without resolving challenges related to regional great power competition or addressing the security issues of the Australian people and the Australian continent.

Regarding the "AUKUS" and its nuclear submarine cooperation, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokespersons have repeatedly emphasized that bloc confrontation and the formation of exclusive small circles go against the trend of the times and do not align with the common wishes of regional countries. The spokesperson stated that the U.S.-U.K.-Australia nuclear submarine cooperation violates the purpose and objectives of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and constitutes a serious nuclear proliferation risk by transferring nuclear submarine propulsion reactors and large amounts of weapons-grade highly enriched uranium from nuclear-armed states to non-nuclear-armed states.

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7514875074189492762/

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