Asia Pacific Defence Reporter25 Mar 2024

Episode 41

This episode focuses entirely on AUKUS, which is totally dominating the national security debate at the moment – and that’s not necessarily a good thing with everything else being ignored. First we had the news from the US that they will only build a single Virginia class submarine in 2025, which looks like a deceleration in their effort to reach a rate of 2.33 per year needed to have excess platforms to then sell to Australia. But for our government, it’s business as usual with the line that they are very confident that everything is going to plan. What is that confidence based on? One suspects nothing more than being patted on the head by senior US figures and being told, trust us – and thank you for the gift of $4.7 billion that you will start transferring later this year. Then there was another forelock-tugging performance during the visits from the UK of Foreign Secretary David Cameron and Defence Secretary Grant Shapps. The Australian euphoria about signing a Status of Forces agreement is ridiculous – these things are simple, routine, legal agreements that are put in place all the time. Australian politicians need to stop grovelling.

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