Australia’s Nuclear Submarine Move Changes Strategic Layout of Indo-Pacific Region

Cheng Xiaonong October 7, 2021

Recently, Australia signed with the United States and the United Kingdom a trilateral security pact called AUKUS, symbolizing that Australia has been strengthening its national defense after realizing the military threat from China.

One: Exposure of Beijing’s ‘Advancing Eastward and Southward’ Strategy

In the first half of 2020, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) waged a China-U.S. Cold War through a series of military threats. Prior to this, the CCP had already launched a series of military deployments in the South Pacific, which gradually exposed its military intention of “advancing eastward and southward” and heightened the alertness of Australia...........

Two: CCP’s Foreign Military Ambitions Are Aimed at Australia

Australia may not see clearly the reason why the CCP has been building bases in island countries in the southern hemisphere, such as Samoa, Kiribati, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu, which are geographically not too close to Australia.  By the time the CCP reaches the gateway to it, however, Australia realizes the true intention of this communist regime............. control the vast waters of the South Pacific; to isolate Australia; and to threaten the United States.

Three: Reason Behind CCP’s ‘Southward’ Military Expansion

One of the targets of the CCP’s “southward” military expansion is Australia. Over the past 20 years, the CCP military has spent a lot of manpower to translate the many memoirs of South Pacific warfare during the Pacific War.  By doing so, the Chinese military will not only be familiar with the geographic characteristics of the islands, but also accumulate the war experience and battlefield tactics, as well as various problems in logistics, transportation, sanitation, and epidemic prevention, of the countries that have fought in the South Pacific. For the CCP, the island countries in the South Pacific do not have many strategic resources worthy of war, except for iron ore, which is particularly needed for military expansion and war preparations during the China-U.S. Cold War...............The only two sources of China’s large-scale imports of high-quality iron ore are, for the time being, Australia and Brazil. Iron ore, like oil, is a strategic material necessary for the arms race of major powers.....................

Four: Ulterior Motive of CCP’s Trade Sanctions on Australia

Since the second half of 2020, the CCP has imposed unilateral economic sanctions on Australia.  With the exception of iron ore, gold, and aluminum ore, other agricultural and mineral products of Australia, which were meant to be exported to China, have been banned or blocked in disguised form by the CCP...........“But the Australian people—business leaders and exporters included—understood that accepting China’s ultimatum would mean submitting to a dangerous new order. Australian businesses absorbed the losses, weathered the embargo, and found new markets.”

Five: Australia’s Nuclear Submarine Strategy

The long-distance military confrontation of modern countries is mainly confrontation between naval vessels. Australia has long been preparing to strengthen its submarine fleet based on the CCP’s maritime threat.

Originally planning to purchase the conventional type of powered attack submarines from France, Australia decided to switch to U.S. nuclear-powered attack submarines recently.

A few years ago, the United States had not formulated its own Indo-Pacific strategy and would not provide Australia with nuclear-powered attack submarines.

Since the release of then President Donald Trump’s Indo-Pacific strategy at the end of 2019, President Joe Biden has now agreed to strengthen the submarine fleet of the Australian Navy.

Compared with the conventional type of powered attack submarines used by France, American nuclear-powered attack submarines are much more advantageous in ways that not only are they larger in tonnage, their equipment, and nuclear submarine technology are also based on a mature and reliable foundation of 60 years..........By doing so, the CCP navy’s planned invasion of the South Pacific can be effectively prevented.............

Six: Influence of Australia’s New Strategy of National Defense

The reason why the CCP has been forcibly building artificial islands in the open waters of the South China Sea is to blockade the international waters in this area.  The strategic intention of these artificial islands, which serve as the “deep sea fortress” of the CCP’s strategic nuclear submarines, have been introduced publicly and specifically by the regime. Setting off from the “deep sea fortress,” these strategic nuclear submarines can pose a nuclear threat to the United States at any time once they submerge into the vast Central Pacific............This deployment has to a certain extent broken the CCP’s three-sided encirclement of Australia and has also dispersed the CCP’s naval forces..........To Read More....