Australian prime minister visits Fiji to discuss nuclear submarines and regional security | – #Australian #prime #minister #visits #Fiji #discuss #nuclear #submarines #regional #security
SYDNEY, March 15 (Reuters) – Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will meet his Fijian counterpart in Suva on Wednesday and Canberra’s 245 billion will convey the message that the $500,000 nuclear-powered submarine program is not in breach of its nuclear non-proliferation obligations.
Australia, USA and is a party to a nuclear-free zone agreement with 12 South Pacific countries, including Fiji, in a region where nuclear weapons vulnerability is high because of France’s nuclear weapons tests.
Albanese USA and will meet Fijian Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka on Wednesday to discuss regional security, a day after announcing details of the AUKUS submarine program in San Diego with British leaders.
Australia from 2040 Britain at the beginning of the next decade before moving on to production of a new AUKUS submarine based on his design USAwill buy three Virginia-class submarines.
Britain and US nuclear-powered submarines will be stationed in Australia from 2027.
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China says AUKUS violates the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, a claim Australia denies.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Chinese diplomats would attend her department’s briefing on the AUKUS program in Canberra on Wednesday, along with diplomats from other nations.
“We’re always happy to be very transparent about our plans,” he told ABC radio.
Australia stressed on Tuesday that the submarines will not carry nuclear weapons.
Australian defense officials have said the nuclear submarine fleet is needed to counter China’s naval buildup.
Defense Secretary Richard Marles told ABC TV on Wednesday: “One of the issues we’re facing in our region is that we’re in the biggest condition the world has seen since the end of World War II. military we are witnessing the unification”. “It’s not Australia who did it.”
Reporting by Kirsty Needham. Edited by Gerry Doyle
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2023-03-15 10:37:33
Source – reuters
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