The first steps towards realising the AUKUS defence pact have begun with the arrival of the USS Minnesota.
As the very first tactile steps are taken in Australia’s nuclear submarine deal with the United States, an Australian defence expert has reiterated the importance of defending the Indian Ocean against Beijing’s burgeoning might.
The U.S. submarine presence in association with the AUKUS agreement is starting to come to fruition off the coast of Western Australia (WA).
The Virginia-class USS Minnesota has been scouting out new territory during training exercise while based at WA’s naval base off the coast of Perth, where four Virginia Class submarines will be stationed from 2027 under the AUKUS trilateral defence pact.
By the middle of the year, up to 80 U.S. navy personnel will be stationed at the multi-billion-dollar HMAS Stirling base—they’ll be the first of hundreds who will eventually arrive on—or off—Australia’s shores.
Under AUKUS, Australia will be armed with nuclear-powered submarines—amid a swathe of other defence collaborations with the UK and United States—a move aimed at creating a counterweight against Beijing’s aggression in the region.
Peter Dean, the director of Foreign Policy at the U.S. Studies Centre at the University of Sydney, said the latest move was vital to the partnership.
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“Defending the Indian Ocean against rising Chinese capabilities and power is important,” he told Reuters.
The comments also come after the Chinese Communist Party dispatched three naval vessels to circumnavigate Australia over a three week period from February and March.
The move drew national attention when the ships engaged in a supposed live fire exercise in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand, causing 49 commercial planes to reroute.
US Reaffirms Support of AUKUS
Earlier this month, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth met with his Australian counterpart Richard Marles in Washington, where he spoke of President Donald’s Trump’s support for the AUKUS alliance and a presence in the Indian Ocean.
The $368 billion (US$233 billion) nuclear submarine deal—that includes the purchase of up to three to five Virginia-class vessels—is Australia’s largest capital purchase in history.
“The president is very aware, supportive of AUKUS,” Hegseth said following the meeting.
“[The president] recognises the importance of the defence industrial base.”
Australia’s military budget is expected to rise to 2.3 percent of GDP by 2034, putting it in line with current spending by the UK and ahead of France, and China.
But Elbridge Colby, Trump’s choice to be undersecretary of policy at the U.S. Defence Department, told a U.S. Senate Committee earlier this month that the “core ally” against Beijing needed to up spending to at least 3 percent of GDP.
“The main concern the U.S. should press with Australia, consistent with the president’s approach, is higher defence spending,” Colby wrote.
“Australia is currently well below the 3 percent level advocated for NATO, by NATO Secretary General Rutte, and Canberra faces a far more powerful challenge in China [compared to the Europeans against Russia].”
Australia’s Defence Minister Marles has pledged to increase spending by $50 million over 10 years.
