The United States is currently in talks to construct Australia's first nuclear-powered submarines by the middle of the 2030s as a response to China's expanding military.
The Wall Street Journal exclusively reported on Saturday, citing "Western officials," that the proposed plan, which has not yet been formally approved, intends to offer Australia an initial fleet while longer-term initiatives will give Australia the potential to create its own.
Senior officials from the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom have discussed the arrangement, according to WSJ's report, and a decision would likely be made in March 2023.
However, the report also noted that to implement the plan, the US would need to increase its capacity for producing submarines, and Australia would be expected to make a financial contribution as well.
Former Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison launched a historic alliance called AUKUS in September of last year to support Australia's acquisition of nuclear-powered submarines.
The declaration followed Australia's cancellation of a $90 billion deal with France to manufacture 12 attack-class submarines.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in June that the government and French shipbuilder Naval Group had come to a settlement over the canceled contract.
The overall cost of the discarded policy, according to him, would be $3.4 billion if Australia paid the Naval Group 555 million euros.
Later that month, Penny Wong, the Australian foreign minister, stated during a news conference that Australia's new generation of submarines would only have nuclear propulsion and no nuclear capabilities.
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China Doesn't Approve
However, some of Australia's neighbors have criticized the Aukus accord, with China, in particular, taking its objections to the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Beijing claimed that the deal granting Australia access to nuclear submarine technology violated international non-proliferation treaties.
IAEA chief Rafael Mariano Grossi expressed satisfaction with the Aukus partners' cooperation thus far, while Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning claimed that the organization was "turning a blind eye" to the issue.
The Albanese administration has also pledged A$15 billion (US$10.1 billion) as part of a National Reconstruction Fund to reinvigorate Australia's manufacturing sector as part of its policy goal.
The partnership's choice of nuclear submarine model is still unknown, and Australia's defense minister Richard Marles has set the announcement date for early 2023.
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Written by Joaquin Victor Tacla
