The U.S., the U.K., and Australia made the first concrete step on Monday to fulfill a tripartite defense deal centered on boosting the latter’s naval firepower to counter China’s growing military threat in the Indo-Pacific region.
During a press conference at the Naval Base Point Loma in San Diego, Calif., President Joe Biden confirmed the U.S. will send three Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarines to Australia, with the potential to send two more if needed. The U.S. aims to complete the sale of the first three submarines by 2032.
But the “ultimate goal,” Biden said, is to work with the U.K. to develop the eponymous SSN-AUKUS, a “new state-of-the-art conventionally armed” submarine combining British submarine design with American technology.
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