Australia yesterday said that it had signed a deal to allow the exchange of nuclear secrets and material with the US and the UK, a key step toward equipping its navy with nuclear-powered submarines.
It binds the three to security arrangements for the transfer of sensitive US and UK nuclear material and know-how as part of the tripartite AUKUS security accord.
AUKUS, which envisages building an Australian nuclear-powered submarine fleet and jointly developing advanced fighting capabilities, is seen as a strategic answer to Chinese military ambitions in the Pacific.
Photo: AFP
“This agreement is an important step toward Australia’s acquisition of conventionally-armed, nuclear-powered submarines for the Royal Australian Navy,” Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Richard Marles said.
The acquisition of a nuclear-powered submarine fleet would set the “highest non-proliferation standards,” he said, adding that the nation is not seeking nuclear weapons.
The latest deal — signed in Washington last week and tabled in the Australian parliament yesterday — includes a provision for Australia to indemnify its partners against any liability for nuclear risks from material sent to the nation.
Nuclear material for the subs’ propulsion would be transferred from the US or the UK in “complete, welded power units,” it says.
Australia would be responsible for the storage and disposal of spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste from the nuclear power units.
“Submarines are an essential part of Australia’s naval capability, providing a strategic advantage in terms of surveillance and protection of our maritime approaches,” the deal says.
Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) on a visit to Australia in April warned that AUKUS raises “serious nuclear proliferation risks.”
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
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