Australia’s submarines
- 2013 -
Australia decides they need to buy new submarines because of Chinese hostility in the region.
The government had to decide between
buying submarines from overseas (which would be cheaper and faster)
building the submarines in Australia (which boost Australian businesses)
What would you recommend they do?
- 2016 -
Australia signs a contract with Naval Group, a state backed French maker, to buy 12 diesel electric submarines for $40-50 billion
The delivery date was set for the early 2020’s.
- September 2021 -
Australia cancels the submarine deal with France. Why do you think they did this?
Australia says the main reasons were:
costs had almost doubled to $90 bn
the delivery date was delayed by over 10 years (to mid-2030’s)
Nuclear powered subs are quieter, 2-3 times faster and can stay underwater much longer
However…
Prime Minister Morrison made the announcement with Boris Johnson and Joe Biden. Instead, the country will purchase eight nuclear-powered submarines from the United States and the United Kingdom. These engines are much more silent so harder to detect.
Australia has spent about $2.4bn on the French project so far, and may have to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation for leaving the contract.
The three countries formed AUKUS. A defence partnership to protect the region from Chinese aggression.
How does France feel about the cancellation?
How does Japan feel about AUKUS?
France called the decision by Australia a “stab in the back”.
Match the country to the number of submarines they have:
22
69
74
75
China (estimate)
Japan
North Korea (estimate)
U.S.
Why do you think North Korea has so many?
Do you think Japan needs more submarines?
In April 2020 the Australian prime minister, Scott Morrison, called for an independent investigation into the origins of coronavirus in Wuhan. How did China respond?
Beijing responded economically:
high tariffs on Australian barley, lobster and wine
blocks on all coal shipments from Australia
sources:
https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/navy-ships/a37667312/france-australia-broken-submarine-deal-explained/
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/lost-the-plot-how-an-obsession-with-local-jobs-blew-out-australia-s-90-billion-submarine-program-20210913-p58r34.html
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-10293161/The-incredible-new-Triton-submarines-configured-cocktail-parties.html