A new 50-year AUKUS treaty will underpin the UK and Australian submarine programmes, support tens of thousands of jobs in the UK and Australia, enhance both nations’ industrial capacity, and deliver the submarines that keep the UK and its allies safe.
UK Defence Secretary John Healey said: “AUKUS is one of Britain’s most important defence partnerships, strengthening global security while driving growth at home. This historic Treaty confirms our AUKUS commitment for the next half century. Through the Treaty, we are supporting high-skilled, well-paid jobs for tens of thousands of people in both the UK and Australia, delivering on our Plan for Change today and for the generations to come. There are people not yet born who will benefit from the jobs secured through this defence deal. Our deep defence relationship with Australia – from our work together to support Ukraine, share vital intelligence, and develop innovative technology – makes us secure at home and strong abroad.”
UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy said: “The UK-Australia relationship is like no other, and in our increasingly volatile and dangerous world, our anchoring friendship has real impact in the protection of global peace and prosperity. Our new bilateral AUKUS treaty is an embodiment of that – safeguarding a free and open Indo Pacific whilst catalysing growth for both our countries. This is how our government delivers the Plan for Change – protecting our national security and stability whilst generating jobs for Brits.”
UK High Commissioner to Australia Dame Sarah MacIntosh said: “The UK and Australia are enduring friends and partners – from security and defence to trade and growth, from culture and sport to education and people links. We invest in each other and create growth opportunities together. This week, we meet investment leaders and security industry, and agree to work together towards new investment in our economies. We are participating in Exercise Talisman Sabre, a UK Carrier Strike Group is visiting Darwin, and we will sign our AUKUS Treaty. From the Indo-Pacific to the Euro-Atlantic, we share an unwavering commitment to stand up for openness, stability and freedom from coercion. Our AUKUS partnership will make us safer and more secure. It will strengthen and increase the resilience of our defence industrial bases, and create jobs for generations in UK, Australia and the US.”
This is the latest milestone reached under the AUKUS partnership. The Foreign Secretary and Defence Secretary will travel to Australia as the Carrier Strike Group and more than 3,000 British military personnel take part in the largest military exercise Australia has ever hosted. Their visit follows the exercise’s success where the AUKUS nations worked with Japan on advancing how we use robotics and autonomous systems in our defence systems.
Both ministers will meet their counterparts at the annual “Australia-UK Ministerial”, known as AUKMIN, to drive forward collaboration across the board – generating further trade and investment to our £23 billion per year annual trade relationship with Australia. Travelling onto Melbourne, the Foreign Secretary and Defence Secretary will meet with businesses at the forefront of AUKUS – delivering the defence industrial strength needed to protect British, Australian, and American interests. “The Foreign Secretary and Defence Secretary will visit Darwin to see our commitment to the Indo-Pacific first hand as the Carrier Strike Group docks in the Northern Territory,” the UK government statement said. This deployment – one of the UK’s largest this century – sends a clear message that the UK, alongside our partners, stands ready to protect the Indo-Pacific’s vital trade routes and will deter those who undermine global security.
On HMS Prince of Wales, the flagship of the group, the Foreign Secretary and Defence Secretary will meet the service personnel who have participated in Exercise Talisman Sabre, one of the largest military exercises in the world this year. Bringing together more than 35,000 military personnel from 19 nations, this exercise strengthens and tests how key partners can work together to safeguard global trade routes and maintain regional stability.
The Carrier Strike Group deployment this year reinforces the UK Government’s Plan for Change by strengthening the international partnerships that underpin economic growth and national security, keeping Britain secure at home and strong abroad. It takes place against the backdrop of the Government’s landmark commitment to increase defence spending to 2.6% of GDP by 2027. This historic investment underpins the Government’s mission-led approach to securing Britain’s future, providing the economic stability necessary for growth whilst ensuring the UK maintains cutting-edge capabilities such as to meet emerging global threats.
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Delighted that we are close to Australia 🇬🇧🏴🏴
Those seeds in the air, they do strike me as AUKUS or AUKMIN or quite possibly CANZUK seeds. I guess only time will tell.
Given that the UK-AU deal involves Australia giving $4.8 billion to the UK defence industrial base (and I do mean give), that would provide them with 4.8 billion reasons to support the deal.
CANZUK a great idea in principle
Alas, the UK’s 2 QE carriers (HMS Queen Elizabeth and Prince of Wales) for years will have understrength air groups. They will, long term, have understrength UK RN surface escort carrier groups and frequently absent UK SSNs to escort them when in the Indo-Pacific.
All this is part of the UK’s new NATO FIRST (Russia Threat) doctrine. This means higher priority will be placed on the UK Army and a nuclear armed RAF to face Russia, rather than building up sufficient RN surface ships.
The RN’s ability to field “up to” 12 SSNs is also doubtful.
Basically NATO FIRST means the UK will have insufficient power projection to do anything substantial to protect Australia from China.
I agree with your assessment.
We are in the process of repeating the same mistakes we made in the 1930’s in regards who we believe will come to our aid if we are attacked.
An Alliance/Treaty with the UK, or the EU or the US is meaningless
Correct. If you are referring to the recent AUKUS Submarine treaty, to call it a framework would be generous. It excludes everything important, such as cost and work share, while cementing the UK’s role as design authority, to which Australia can have input but not a decision-making role. It also seems to waive any liability claims and whatever Australia buys, if it breaks it’s our problem. It has absolutely nothing to do with security or mutual assistance, it’s purely about building something in the UK and possibly Australia.