How AUKUS submarine deal was sealed in Cornwall: Australian PM Scott Morrison asked Biden for secret US nuclear tech to take on China at G7 after first getting Boris onboard – then ditched ‘rip off’ $90bn French contract

Scott Morrison meeting with Boris Johnson and Joe Biden at the G7 summit in Cornwall back in June, where the trio put pen to paper on a new military alliance that will give Australia its first nuclear-powered submarines

DAILY MAIL – By CHRIS PLEASANCE  and MARTIN ROBINSON CHIEF REPORTER FOR MAILONLINE

PUBLISHED: 16:29 BST, 16 September 2021 | UPDATED: 16:59 BST, 16 September 2021

  • Scott Morrison agreed deal to acquire nuclear submarine technology from US and UK at Cornwall G7 summit  
  • Three leaders met on the sidelines during summit’s last day when they put pen to paper on AUKUS pact
  • Australia will now get hold of at least eight nuclear submarines, counter-balancing China’s growing power
  • Alliance will also share other military technologies in one of the most significant deals signed in decades 

This is the moment that Australia, the UK and the US put pen to paper on their new military alliance as Scott MorrisonJoe Biden and Boris Johnson met on the sidelines of June’s G7 summit in Cornwall.

It was the culmination of an 18-month plan devised by Mr Morrison to acquire his country’s first nuclear-powered submarines, allowing Australia to push back against an increasingly aggressive China.

The plot is thought to have been hatched in early 2020 when Mr Morrison asked a team of scientists, Navy top brass, engineers and other experts to look again at a deal Australia had signed with with France to buy 12 diesel-powered subs and to see whether better options existed.

Ultimately, the task force concluded that going nuclear – an option that Australia has long-resisted because it lacks a domestic nuclear industry and is committed to nuclear non-proliferation – would be a better option than paying France $90billion for its vessels, after the cost ballooned from the $50billion they first agreed on.

In late 2020, Mr Morrison instructed his defence chiefs to begin ‘engaging the systems’ by briefing the UK and the US on his plans, according to a source who spoke with the Sydney Morning Herald, leading to a conversation with Boris Johnson in May this year.

Mr Johnson agreed to set up talks with Joe Biden at the G7 a few weeks later, with the trio finally meeting on June 13 – the final day of the summit. It was during this meeting that Biden agreed for the first time in more than 50 years to share the secrets of America’s nuclear submarines with a third country. Britain is the only other nation to have acquired such technology. 

The pact does not make the design of Australia's new submarines clear, but they will be based on previous US and UK designs. Pictured above is a cross-section of Britain's Astute-class nuclear attack subs, which is likely to mirror the new vessels
The pact does not make the design of Australia’s new submarines clear, but they will be based on previous US and UK designs. Pictured above is a cross-section of Britain’s Astute-class nuclear attack subs, which is likely to mirror the new vessels

READ FULL ARTICLE HERE : DAILY MAIL

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here