The US, UK and Australia have unveiled a decades-long project to supply Canberra with nuclear-powered submarines, entering a historic partnership that binds the allies more tightly as they counter China in the Indo-Pacific.
US President Joe Biden, Australia’s prime minister Anthony Albanese and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak met in San Diego, California, on Monday to unveil the parameters of the submarine programme, with the USS Missouri, a Virginia-class submarine, in the background.
“For more than a century, our three nations have stood shoulder to shoulder . . . to help sustain peace, stability, and prosperity around the world, including in the Indo-Pacific,” the three leaders said in a joint statement. “The steps we are announcing today will help us to advance these mutually beneficial objectives in the decades ahead.”