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<\/p>\nDefence Minister Richard Marles says the United States is still open to providing Australia with up to five Virginia-class submarines, but has declared the government remains confident it can bridge the gap to the next-generation AUKUS submarines with just three.<\/p>\n
Over the weekend, Mr Marles and his US and United Kingdom counterparts announced Australia was planning to buy three second-hand Virginia-class submarines, instead of one new submarine and two second-hand ones, from the United States.<\/p>\n
Some critics say the move exposes deep flaws in the ambitious AUKUS push, while the opposition has vowed to interrogate the shift at Senate estimates this week in Canberra.<\/p>\n
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Australia is planning to buy second-hand Virginia-class submarines. (Reuters: Brian Snyder)<\/p>\n
Analysts have also asked why language previously adopted by the three nations \u2014 which said Australia would acquire between three and five Virginia-class submarines \u2014 appeared to have “disappeared” from the most recent statement.<\/p>\n
Mr Marles told the ABC in Singapore that there were “no changes” to the AUKUS deal, and it was “the same arrangement it has always been”, indicating Australia could still move to purchase a further two submarines if they were needed.<\/p>\n
But he also said that the government was intent on “getting the Australian build up and running as soon as possible” to ensure that the two additional Virginia-class submarines were not necessary.<\/p>\n
“The plan is to have three that take us through \u2026 that’s definitely what we’re seeking to achieve,” he said.<\/p>\n
“It’s the same arrangement it has always been, but we want to see that first Australian-built submarine come off the production line \u2026 that’s the key thing here.<\/p>\n
Australia to buy three second-hand US submarines under AUKUS shake-up<\/a><\/p>\n The US, UK and Australia have announced they will “streamline” the purchase, with Australia no longer buying any new submarines, and acquiring three second-hand submarines.<\/p>\n “In that context, it’ll be three.”<\/p>\n While the government remains confident the US will sell the submarines to Australia next decade, there is no guarantee it will happen: the White House will have to sign off on the sale, and will only do so if it can lift stubbornly low submarine production rates at US shipyards.<\/p>\n Some analysts have also questioned whether the shift unveiled on the weekend would reduce Australia’s submarine capability, because the third submarine would have a shorter service life than a new submarine rolling off the production line<\/p>\n But Mr Marles brushed off the criticism.<\/p>\n “All the submarines come to us after a mid-life sustainment, so a refresh, if you like,” he said.<\/p>\n “They have the life to take them where we are now to the future, where we will be operating the submarines we’re building in Adelaide.”<\/p>\n No senior Chinese leaders at conference<\/p>\n Mr Marles made the comments on the sidelines of the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue, where both Japan’s defence minister and the Philippines defence secretary criticised China’s military build-up and its militarisation of the South China Sea.<\/p>\n China did not send any senior leaders or military officials to the conference, with Beijing instead represented by a delegation of People’s Liberation Army experts and scholars led by Major General Meng Xiangqing.<\/p>\n Some delegates and academics suggested privately that Beijing did not want to field questions about its conduct or internal ructions within the Chinese military.<\/p>\n Pete Hegseth and Shinjiro Koizumi attended the Shangri-La Dialogue. (AFP: The Yomiuri Shimbun)<\/p>\n Mr Marles said he would have “welcomed” the chance to meet his Chinese counterpart, but played down the significance of China’s decision, saying that Beijing was already aware of the criticisms made by countries in the region.<\/p>\n “China has heard those views [before] so they wouldn’t have been hearing them for the first time,” he said.<\/p>\n During the Shangri-La conference, the minister fielded a question from a Solomon Islands journalist about how Australia and China could “cooperate” together in the Pacific, and told the conference he welcomed Beijing’s efforts to help the region develop economically.<\/p>\n![\"Two](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/8a2f2d3e274ae40d5d00a46b902ee0a3.jpeg\")
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