Under the military pact with the US and Britain, the Royal Australian Navy will acquire eight nuclear-powered submarines at an estimated cost of $100 billion.
Albanese will tell the National Press Club in Canberra later today that AUKUS is crucial for Australia’s security amid a period of uncertainty in the Asia Pacific region, The Sydney Morning Herald reports.
He will also pledge to encourage more local defence manufacturing capabilities to avoid dependence on overseas allies for advanced military equipment.
“With the right investments in our capability and sovereignty, our defence force can be made ready for future challenges,” Albanese will say, according to a draft of his speech.
The prime minister will use the speech to hit back at critics of AUKUS who say it will make Australia overly dependent on allies such as the US and Britain.
“This will be the single biggest leap in our defence capability in our history.
“Yet AUKUS is about much more than nuclear submarines, or even technological interoperability. AUKUS is about the future.
“It further formalises the common values and the shared interest that our three nations have in preserving peace and upholding the rules and institutions that secure our region and our world.”
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Albanese’s speech today comes ahead of next month’s announcement about the type of nuclear-propelled submarine technology Australia will obtain.
He is expected to visit Washington for a possible joint press conference with US President Joe Biden and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
The former Coalition government launched AUKUS in September 2021.
The AUKUS alliance drew criticism from former Labor prime minister Paul Keating, who said Australia would give up its control of the nation’s armed forces under the deal.
Early this year, former Coalition PM Malcolm Turnbull said an Australian nuclear-powered submarine fleet could only operate and be maintained with the help of US experts.
The federal government is still examining the Defence Strategic Review, which it was handed last week.
An unclassified version will be released publicly before the May budget, Albanese will announce today.
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