The U.S., Britain and Australia counter China in the Pacific
The U.S. and Britain announced they would help Australia deploy nuclear-powered submarines, taking a major step in challenging China’s broad territorial claims.
If the plan comes to fruition, Australia may be conducting routine patrols through areas of the South China Sea that Beijing now claims as its own exclusive zone. The announcement is a major step for Australia, which until recent years has been hesitant to push back directly at core Chinese interests.
The decision to share the technology for naval reactors, even with a close ally, was a major move for President Biden — one bound to raise protests by the Chinese and questions from American allies.
American officials said Australia had committed never to arm the submarines with nuclear weapons; they would almost certainly carry conventional, submarine-launched cruise missiles. Yet, even conventionally armed submarines could alter the naval balance of power in the Pacific.
“Attack submarines are a big deal, and they send a big message,” said Vipin Narang, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor who studies the use of nuclear weapons in great-power competition. “This would be hard to imagine five years ago.”
TANIKO Madagascar 