The costly nuclear submarine procurement project has caused the Australian government to face continuous criticism. Labor MP Josh Wilson broke his silence this week to voice concerns about the Orcus nuclear submarine deal. On March 24, former Australian Prime Minister Keating published an article, once again bombarding the wrong logic of nuclear submarine procurement.
News Group Australia reported on the 22nd that Josh Wilson became the first member of the Federal House of Representatives to publicly oppose the “Ocus” agreement. Wilson said this week that he “does not believe nuclear powered submarines are the only or best answer to Australia’s strategic needs”. At the same time, he is worried that Australia’s fragile nuclear waste disposal capacity cannot cope with the large amount of highly radioactive material brought about by the decommissioning of nuclear submarines. An important support force of the Australian Labor Party government-Australian trade unions and branches of the Labor Party have also stood up to oppose the “Ocus” agreement signed by the former Australian government led by Morrison in 2021.
According to a comprehensive report by Australian media, in the face of raging doubts, Australian Prime Minister Albanese was forced to answer a number of urgent questions at the Labor Party caucus meeting on Tuesday: the 368 billion Australian dollars (approx. 1.7 trillion yuan) where does the huge military expenditure come from? How to ensure Australia’s sovereignty and independence by purchasing nuclear submarines produced by the United States and the United Kingdom? In this regard, Albanese vaguely stated that the cost of the “Ocus” agreement is less than 10% of the defense budget. However, he acknowledged the need to raise the defense budget to more than 2 percent of GDP.
After severely criticizing the “Ocus” agreement last week, former Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating once again targeted the wrong logic of nuclear submarine procurement this Friday. Australia’s “9 News” news network reported on the 24th that Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Mars said in Parliament this week that the nuclear submarine fleet will be deployed in areas far away from the Australian coast to protect shipping channels from blockades. Keating said in an opinion piece that the government shifted the reason for needing nuclear submarines from protecting the country from invasion to protecting maritime trade channels. “These are two very different purposes and have different urgency.” He described this strategic logic as a replica of Australia’s “forward defense policy” pursued in the 1960s, and criticized the latter for getting Australia involved in the Vietnam War. Keating criticized that Marrs’ remarks showed that Australia’s defense policy “is no longer about defending the Australian mainland, but a forward defense posture that allows the use of nuclear submarines’ unlimited cruise capabilities to attack long-range targets.” For example, Keating said, “such as threatening an oil refinery in Singapore, or China’s coastline.” Keating called this strategic thinking “heartbreaking.”
As the details of nuclear submarine procurement continued to be delved into, more potential problems surfaced. The Australian Financial Review stated on the 23rd that former Australian government minister Nick Minchin suggested that Mars determine as soon as possible the location of the disposal site for the highly radioactive nuclear waste brought by the nuclear submarine. Mars had proposed a location in South Australia, however, the proposal was met with strong opposition from the South Australian government, environmental groups and local media. According to reports, the local governments of South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia, which may be selected as the nuclear waste disposal site, have been arguing endlessly, and they have all raised objections to setting the nuclear waste disposal site on their own territory.
Australia’s neighbor, New Zealand, clearly “says no” to nuclear submarines. According to a New Zealand TV report on the 24th, New Zealand Prime Minister Hipkins stated at the beginning of the announcement of the details of the “Ocus” agreement that Australia’s nuclear submarines are prohibited from sailing into New Zealand waters. Former New Zealand prime minister Helen Clark questioned the need to align so clearly with US defense policy, criticizing the deal as “undermining New Zealand’s independent foreign policy”.
Source: baijiahao.baidu
