The Australian government said on Saturday that it had signed a treaty with Great Britain to strengthen cooperation over the next 50 years on the partnership of the Akus nuclear submarine.
The Aukus Pact, agreed by Australia, Great Britain and the United States in 2021, aim to provide Australia with nuclear attack submarines for the next decade to counter China’s ambitions in Indo-Pacific. The administration of American president Donald Trump announced an official journal of the pact this year.
Defense Minister Richard Marles said in a statement that the bilateral treaty had been signed with British defense secretary John Healey after a meeting in the city of Geelong, in the state of Victoria.
“The Geelong Treaty will allow complete cooperation on the design, construction, operation, maintenance and elimination of our SSN-AUKUS submarines,” the press release said.
The Treaty was a “commitment for the next 50 years of Australian bilateral defense cooperation in the United Kingdom under the Akus I pillar,” he said, adding that it was based on the “solid basis” of Akus trilateral cooperation.
The British Defense Ministry said this week that the bilateral treaty underlined the underwater programs of the two allies and is expected to be worth up to 20 billion pounds (27.1 billion dollars) for Great Britain in exports in the next 25 years.
Aukus is the largest Defense project in Australia, Canberra committing to spending $ 368 billion over three decades in the program, which includes billions of dollars in the American production base.
Australia, which paid this month at $ 800 million in the United States this month in the second episode under Aukus, argued that it is convinced that the pact will take place.
Friday, the Ministers of Defense and Foreign Affairs had talks in Sydney to stimulate cooperation, coinciding with the biggest war games in Australia.
Up to 40,000 soldiers from 19 countries participate in the Talisman saber saber exercises from July 13 to August 4, which, according to the Australian army, said it was a repetition for the common war to maintain Indo-Pacific stability.
Great Britain has considerably increased its participation in the exercise co-organized by Australia and the United States, with the HMS Prince of Wales aircraft carrier by participating this year.
