MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th September, 2021) Australia will receive at least eight nuclear submarines as part of the newly-formed AUKUS (Australia-UK-US) defense alliance, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Thursday.
On Wednesday evening, Morrison together with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and US President Joe Biden declared formation of the new AUKUS defense and security partnership, "which will protect and defend our shared interests in the Indo-Pacific."
The first initiative under the AUKUS alliance will be the creation of nuclear-powered submarine technology for the Royal Australian Navy.
"Under AUKUS, the three nations will focus immediately on identifying the optimal pathway to deliver at least eight nuclear-powered submarines for Australia," Morrison announced in a statement posted on his official website.
Prior to Wednesday's announcement, the Australian tv channel ABC reported that Australia had decided to create new nuclear submarine fleet and to abandon the contract with the French Naval Group worth 90 billion Australian Dollars (US $66 billion) in favor of a joint project with the United States and Great Britain, which offered Australia "a conventional submarine of exceptional quality." The decision was explained by the acceleration of changes in regional security.
The Chinese Embassy in Washington, in response to the formation of the defensive partnership between the United States, Great Britain and Australia, has already urged countries to get rid of the Cold War mentality and to refrain from creating alliances against anyone.
