AUKUS Increases Australia’s Sovereignty, Not Dependence on US: Defence Minister

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin welcomes Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Richard Marles to the Pentagon in Washington, on Feb. 3, 2023. Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images

Australia’s alliance with the United States, including the AUKUS partnership, enhances rather than diminishes the country’s sovereignty, Defence Minister Richard Marles remarked.

In a statement to the House on Feb. 9, Marles repudiated critics of the AUKUS alliance, such as former prime ministers Paul Keating and Malcolm Turnbull, who argue the acquisition of nuclear submarines capabilities would make Australia dependent on its allies and erode its sovereignty.

In January, Turnbull said that while AUKUS was worthwhile, the submarine aspect would diminish Australian sovereignty because the ships would require U.S. Navy supervision to be operated and maintained.

But Marles said the AUKUS pact helps accelerate Australia’s development of advanced defence capabilities, which in the long-term, builds self-reliance and agency to pursue our sovereign interests.

“The reality is that almost all of Australia’s high-end capability is developed in cooperation with our partners. Submarines are no exception. And that dramatically enhanced capability dramatically enhances our sovereignty,” he said.

“We need to leverage expertise from the United Kingdom and the United States to help us along our optimal pathway—and building capability with them means we are better able to shape, deter and respond within our strategic landscape.”

He highlighted that decisions by the Australian government would always be “sovereign” and independent, regardless of whether defence assets are developed domestically or abroad.

“Because we will not trade sovereignty for capability. To do so would be illusory. For the only point of increased capability is to strengthen sovereignty,” he said.

L-R) Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defense Richard Marles, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin arrive for a joint news conference after the 32nd annual Australia-U.S. Ministerial Consultations at the U.S. State Department Dec. 6, 2022 in Washington, DC. Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Marles said the current rules-based world order was under “enormous strain” with the most complex and challenging strategic circumstances since World War II.

This was illustrated in Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine and closer to home China’s military build-up.

“Nuclear weapon stockpiles are expanding without transparency, and proliferation is increasingly difficult to verify,” Marles said.

“And the risk of conflict is less remote than in the past. We now live in a less safe and less stable world.”

He added that in a less safe and stable world, it will demand more of Australia and its defence force to protect our way of life.

“In these times, it is more important than ever that Australia works closely with like-minded countries, key partners and our United States ally,” he said.

“Because our sovereignty is stronger when we work with others towards shared goals, in ways that respect each other’s national interests.”

The statement comes a month ahead of Marles’ announcement of the optimal pathway that AUKUS nations will take to provide Australia with nuclear submarine capability while addressing issues such as the submarine design and Australia’s military capability gap.

UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has hinted that Australia could get a brand new submarine class altogether rather than choosing between the U.S. Virginia class or the UK Astute class subs.

“It’s a joint endeavour. Whether that is the sharing of technology, and the understanding of how to do it, the sharing of the build, or the sharing of the design,” he said after a meeting between Australian and UK ministers on Jan. 2.

US Concerns and Support

In a letter to President Joe Biden in December 2022, Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and recently retired Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla.) expressed concerns that supplying Australia with Virginia-class nuclear submarines would stretch the U.S. industrial base to breaking point.

However, many in the U.S. have also shown strong support towards the partnership, including former Commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, Admiral Harry B. Harris Jr, who called it “supremely important.”

Testifying before the Armed Services congressional committee, Harris said the United States needed to “put our shoulder to the task” for Australia.

Royal Australian Navy submarine HMAS Rankin is seen during AUSINDEX 21, a biennial maritime exercise between the Royal Australian Navy and the Indian Navy in Darwin, Australia, on Sept. 5, 2021. POIS Yuri Ramsey/Australian Defence Force via Getty Images

“For them to have a long reach of a nuclear submarine force would be dramatic. It would help us dramatically. It would change the balance of power in the Indian Ocean,” he said on Feb. 7.

The Chinese Communist Party has voiced its opposition to AUKUS with genuine concern and fear of this exact shift in the geostrategic position in the Indo-Pacific that Harris mentioned, according to analysts.

“With Japan at one vertex and India at the other, Australia’s nuclear submarines will allow the Allies to close a strategic triangle at the second island chain’s southernmost point, shortening the distance for reconnaissance, monitoring, and rapid response against China, as well as achieving long-range hypersonic precision strike capabilities,” writes Tuvia Gering in an article for The China Project.