Australia plans submarine base that can host US vessels
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3 min read . Updated: 07 Mar 2022, 05:32 PM IST Facility will also serve as home port for Australia’s nuclear submarines
Australia is planning to build a new naval base on its east coast that could offer resupply and maintenance to American nuclear submarines, increasing the capabilities of both countries in countering China in the Indo-Pacific region.
The facility, Australia’s first full-fledged submarine base on the east coast, will eventually serve as the home port for some of the nuclear submarines that Australia is expected to acquire in the coming decades through AUKUS, a new military partnership with the U.S. and the U.K.
Australia is setting aside more than $7.4 billion for facilities and infrastructure to accommodate the new submarines, including the new east coast base, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Monday. Australia already has a naval base in Western Australia that houses its current fleet of diesel-electric submarines.
“Establishing a second submarine base on our east coast will enhance our strategic deterrent capability, with significant advantages in operational, training, personnel and industrial terms," Mr. Morrison said.
Mr. Morrison, who leads a center-right government with a razor-thin majority in parliament, is down in the polls just months before an expected election, and has been trying to portray himself as strong on national security as a part of his campaign. During his more than three years in office, Mr. Morrison has taken a hard line against China, brought Australia closer to traditional allies such as the U.S. and the U.K., and more recently, harshly criticized Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The U.S. has also sought to make Australia more central to its strategy for the Indo-Pacific, where Western nations have become increasingly concerned about China’s assertiveness. During bilateral talks between Australia and the U.S. last year, officials said they wanted to enhance air, land and sea cooperation, including increasing logistics and support capabilities of U.S. naval vessels in Australia.
Aside from the U.S. sharing nuclear-submarine technology with Australia, other components of the AUKUS arrangement include security cooperation in cyberspace, artificial intelligence, quantum technologies and undersea capabilities. Though analysts say there should be concrete developments on those capabilities before Australia’s nuclear submarines are in place, it isn’t clear yet exactly how Australia will benefit in the near term.
“The government is clearly trying to signal that it is moving quickly with AUKUS implementation," Ashley Townshend, director of foreign policy and defense at the United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney, said of Mr. Morrison’s announcement Monday. “That’s a positive thing, but it’s also still in process."
Top diplomats from Australia, the U.S. and the U.K. met last month on the margins of the Munich Security Conference to discuss AUKUS. In addition to talking about nuclear submarines, the parties “noted our collective desire to deepen collaboration on additional advanced military and technology capabilities," State Department spokesman Ned Price said.
Mr. Morrison said officials reviewed 19 potential sites for the east coast base and settled on three preferred, possible locations: Brisbane, in Queensland state and Australia’s third largest city; Newcastle, northeast of Sydney, which already hosts a major seaport for coal exports; and Port Kembla, which is just southwest of Sydney. Each location is close to key infrastructure needed to support submarines, population centers to grow a uniformed submarine workforce, and maritime training and operational areas, he said.
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Mr. Morrison said an optimal base will provide home-ported submarines with specialized wharves, maintenance facilities, administrative and logistics support, personal amenities and suitable accommodation for submarine crews and support staff, including for visiting submarines from allied nations such as the U.S. and the U.K. He added that there are no plans to remove existing or planned capacity from the Western Australia base, which will remain home to current and future submarines given its strategic importance on the Indian Ocean.
Anthony Albanese, the leader of the center-left Labor Party and Mr. Morrison’s chief opponent in the coming election, said his party is supportive of developing nuclear submarines but that the government has been slow to show actual progress.
“Today’s announcement is really an announcement about an announcement," he said. “What we actually need is announcements that lead to actual infrastructure and announcements that lead to actual defense materiel being realized."
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