Loading<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we do is we work things through in an orderly way,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The government was delighted by Trump\u2019s enthusiastic comments about AUKUS and believed it would be able to work with any recommendations made by the Colby review.<\/p>\n
Former senior defence official Mike Pezzullo said he believed bedding down the US Navy\u2019s presence in Western Australia was one of the most likely ambiguities that Phelan had in mind.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur government tends to emphasise that Force West is about building up our own submarine capability, but when the Americans talk about it, they are explicit that it\u2019s about power projection,\u201d said Pezzullo, a former head of the Home Affairs Department who authored the 2009 defence white paper.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey have long coveted the idea of an operating location like this and they are not going to want to give it up.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pezzullo said the US could also be seeking to establish more certainty about Australia\u2019s operational role in possible conflict scenarios and may consider partnering with Australia and the UK on a trilateral next-generation submarine.<\/p>\n
Plans to develop a new nuclear-powered submarine known as SSN-AUKUS, scheduled to enter service in the late 2030s, are so far limited to the UK and Australia.<\/p>\n
China has long been unhappy with the AUKUS arrangement. A spokesman for its foreign ministry, Guo Jiakun, said on Tuesday that: \u201cWe oppose bloc confrontation and anything that increases the risk of nuclear proliferation and exacerbates arms race.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Australian Submarine Agency\u2019s fact sheet on Submarine Rotational Force West emphasises that it will not be a military base for US or UK navies.<\/p>\n
\u201cAustralia has a longstanding bipartisan policy of no foreign bases on Australian soil,\u201d the agency states. \u201cActivities under SRF-West are consistent with this policy.\u201d<\/p>\n
The agency states that the project will \u201chelp Australia build the necessary operational capabilities and skills to be \u2018sovereign ready\u2019 so we can safely and securely own, operate, maintain and regulate a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines from the early 2030s\u201d.<\/p>\n
While such language could create the impression the project is for the short term, naval expert Jennifer Parker said this was extremely unlikely.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe US sees SRF-W as one of the most significant benefits of AUKUS,\u201d said Parker, an adjunct fellow in naval studies at UNSW.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s hard to see them viewing it as a short-term arrangement \u2013 they will want to be there for the long term.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Greens have opposed the AUKUS plan, including Submarine Rotational Force West, arguing the pact is \u201cabout projecting force in the South China Sea and tying us to the war-making ambitions of the US and UK\u201d rather than defending Australia.<\/p>\n