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Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin says the United States is ramping up advanced war capabilities among the three AUKUS nations, including a range of experimental military exercises in the Indo-Pacific region beginning next year. File Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo
Dec. 2 (UPI) — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has announced increased collaboration with AUKUS partners Britain and Australia to fortify their presence in the Indo-Pacific region amid tensions between China and its smaller neighbors.
Austin unveiled the new cooperation during remarks at a press briefing following a high-stakes sit-down with Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles and British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps Friday at the Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Unit headquarters in Mountain View, Calif.
“In March, our three democracies boldly launched the optimal pathway for Australia to acquire conventionally armed nuclear powered submarines,” he said. “And today, we highlighted the important progress that we’ve made to see that plan through. I’m very proud of the sailors from our three countries who are seamlessly training together across our trilateral partnership.”
The alliance, known as AUKUS, released a joint statement following the meeting, with Austin touting the partnership’s ongoing defense efforts in the Far East, including artificial intelligence, electronic warfare capabilities and quantum technology to deter further hostilities by China.
Austin said the White House is seeking to help Australia construct its own nuclear-powered submarine by the early 2040s.
“Again and again, AUKUS proves that we are stronger together and every day we move closer to our shared vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific,” Austin said.
As part of the latest agreements, Australia plans to purchase a minimum of three U.S. nuclear-powered submarines through the end of the next decade.
Another aspect of the plan revolves around advanced war capabilities among the three nations, including a range of experimental military exercises next year that will test the limits of robotics and other autonomous weapons in waters that have been hotly contested by Beijing in the past year.
U.S. defense officials called the upcoming exercises “a bold new effort into testing, developing and delivering advanced maritime autonomous systems to our warfighters,” according to The Hill.
Marles, the Australian defense minister, said construction was already underway on ports and other infrastructure to accommodate the new U.S. submarines when they are activated for duty.
“When we look back at the significance of today’s meeting, we will see this as the critical meeting, which was a watershed in the progress of pillar two,” said Marles.
The Pentagon revealed previously that the United States has set a goal to install thousands of autonomous weapons systems in the region over the next two years, without citing specifics about the type of weapons.
The U.S. military said it would continue testing new ways to track Chinese submarines with artificial intelligence just two weeks after Australian naval divers involved with the AUKUS effort were injured during a harrowing encounter with a Chinese Naval vessel.
The incident raised the urgency of the trilateral mission in the region, the leaders said Friday.
Under the latest plan, the surveillance technology will eventually be used during Pacific patrols to analyze data collected from underwater sonobuoys and share the readout with the alliance.
As part of the agreement, the United States was set to give Australia $3 billion for training and equipment.
The newest deal also includes a provision for the deployment of 70 additional U.S. contractors and military support personnel to be posted to Australia for three years.
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