Australia cites PH support as AUKUS announces submarine project

From the Philippine News Agency (Mar 14, 2023): Australia cites PH support as AUKUS announces submarine project (By Joyce Ann L. Rocamora)

Australian Ambassador to the Philippines HK Yu (Photo from her Twitter account)

MANILA – Australian Ambassador to the Philippines HK Yu thanked the Philippines for its “support” as Canberra unveils its plan to procure nuclear-powered submarine under AUKUS.

“Australia is investing in capabilities to meet the challenges of our strategic circumstances and ensure the Indo-Pacific remains stable, secure and prosperous,” Yu said in a Tuesday tweet.

“We are grateful for the Philippines’ support as Australia seeks to become a more capable defence partner in the region,” she added.

Canberra is planning to acquire conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarines under the AUKUS, a security partnership established between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Beginning in the early 2030s, the US intends to sell Australia three Virginia-class submarines, with the potential to sell up to two more if needed.

The plan was announced on March 13 following an 18-month consultation period since AUKUS was formed in September 2021.

In a fact sheet, the White House said “AUKUS partners operating highly capable conventionally-armed, nuclear-powered submarines will provide an assured undersea capability that contributes to stability, peace, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific and around the world.”

The Department of Foreign Affairs, meanwhile, has yet to comment on the grouping’s submarine project.

But during the term of former Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr., the agency backed the creation of AUKUS deeming it “would be beneficial in the long term” including for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states which "singly or collectively, do not possess the military wherewithal to maintain peace and security in Southeast Asia, discourage the sudden creation of crises therein, and avoid disproportionate and hasty responses by rival great powers."

"There is an imbalance in the forces available to the ASEAN member states, with the main balancer more than half a world away. The enhancement of a near abroad ally’s ability to project power should restore and keep the balance rather than destabilize it," Locsin said.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1197343