AUKUS undersea drones development boosts regional security: Australia deputy PM
Growing threats to critical underwater infrastructure, such as telecommunications cables and energy pipelines, underscore the need for stronger maritime defence capabilities, Australia's Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles told CNA's Tan Qiuyi on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue.
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SINGAPORE: A newly announced AUKUS project to develop advanced unmanned undersea vehicles marks a major step forward for the trilateral security pact, Australia's Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said on Sunday (May 31).
Describing it as a significant milestone in defence cooperation among Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States, Marles said the initiative demonstrates that AUKUS is moving beyond planning and into delivering tangible military capabilities.
“This is the first time we've committed to a signature project between our three countries, which is backed up by real money with a timeline,” he told CNA on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.
Under the programme announced on Saturday, the three countries will jointly develop advanced payloads for unmanned undersea vehicles, with deliveries expected to begin in 2027.
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The capability will enhance reconnaissance, strike operations, mine countermeasures, anti-submarine warfare and electronic warfare, while improving operations in contested maritime environments, said a joint AUKUS statement.
The project falls under AUKUS's so-called "Pillar Two", which focuses on advanced defence technologies including artificial intelligence, quantum computing, cyber capabilities, hypersonics and undersea systems.
PROTECTING UNDERSEA INFRASTRUCTURE
The announcement came as 17 countries, including Australia, launched a new framework at the Shangri-La Dialogue to strengthen cooperation in protecting critical underwater infrastructure such as telecommunications cables and energy pipelines.
Marles said growing investment in undersea capabilities reflects rising concerns about threats to seabed infrastructure, which he described as essential to both regional and global security and stability.
“These are literally the connection of Australia to global commerce, and fundamentally the arteries of modern civilisation,” he said.
Recent high-profile incidents involving damaged undersea cables, including in the Baltic Sea and around Taiwan, have heightened concerns about the vulnerability and security of critical seabed infrastructure.
“It's really important that we all subscribe to a set of rules which protects them, (and) make sure we have increased military capability which can defend them,” said Marles, who also serves as Australia’s defence minister.
“That’s important to the future economic prosperity of this region (and) the entire world.”
COLLECTIVE PEACE & SECURITY
Formed in 2021, AUKUS is part of the three nations’ efforts to push back against China's growing power in the Indo-Pacific region. The partnership includes plans for Australia to acquire nuclear-powered submarines.
China has long criticised the pact as destabilising and warned it could fuel an arms race in the Indo-Pacific.
Marles, however, rejected suggestions that Australia's defence modernisation risks increasing regional tensions.
He said Canberra has been transparent about its strategic objectives and consistently communicates them to countries across the region.
“It's hard to conceive of the defence of Australia without a peaceful and stable Southeast Asia,” he said. “So, our interest lies very much in making the contributions that we can to the collective peace and security of this region.”
BALANCING CHINA TIES & SECURITY CONCERNS
On China, Marles said Australia continues to value its economic relationship with Beijing while seeking greater reassurance over China's military expansion.
“The economic rise of China has been greatly important for the prosperity of this region. Our economic relationship with China is profoundly important and, in that sense, we want the most productive relationship with China that we can have,” he said.
“Equally, we are seeing a very significant military buildup by China, and we would like to see more strategic reassurance go hand-in-hand with that.”
Marles added that Australia is deepening defence cooperation with partners across the Indo-Pacific to uphold the rules-based international order and reaffirmed Canberra's view that a sustained US presence remains critical to regional stability.
“We see US presence in the Indo-Pacific as fundamentally important in terms of providing balance, stability and peace,” he said.
“A world which is based on rules gives a middle power like Australia agency. A world which is governed by simply power and might – that's a world where we lose agency.”
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