ALBAWABA - British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak leaves for the United States Sunday to meet U.S. President Joe Biden and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
According to the information circulated, a meeting will be held in San Diego, California, on Monday, in which the British Prime Minister will meet with his Australian counterpart and Biden.
Rishi Sunak will fly to San Diego on Sunday to unveil plans for supplying Australia with nuclear-powered submarines under the Aukus scheme amid concerns about the growing threat from China. @breeallegretti https://t.co/9h9HZvbpML
— Ashis Basu (@BasuAshis) March 11, 2023
On Wednesday, Albanese announced that he would soon visit Washington to meet with Biden.
He said that more details will be announced soon regarding the measures that will be taken. However, the prime minister did not provide any additional information.
Have arrived in the United States with @CN_Australia ahead of AUKUS discussions with @rishisunak and @joebiden. pic.twitter.com/1TU5lbqq4s
— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) March 12, 2023
Speculation suggested that Australian Prime Minister's meeting with the U.S. President would focus on the submarine deal aimed at countering Beijing.
It is expected that during the meeting, or the tripartite summit, a huge agreement under which Canberra, Australia's capital, will acquire nuclear-propelled submarines, will be announced.
Australia is preparing to unveil its plan to buy eight nuclear-powered submarines.
The Australian Prime Minister described this step as "the biggest leap forward" in the country's defense capabilities.
The submarine deal comes under the three-way AUKUS alliance announced in 2021.The three allies (U.S., Britain and Australia) cooperate under it in the field of hypersonic missiles, artificial intelligence and electronic warfare.
The alliance came within the framework of joint efforts to confront China's growing military presence in the Indo-Pacific region.
According to what was reported by political experts, the acquisition of nuclear-powered submarines by Australia would change the balance of military power in the Pacific region.
For his turn, British Prime Minister praised the AUKUS alliance, and said that such partnerships "embody Britain's approach".
In 2021, Australia angered France after announcing the cancellation of a contract to buy submarines from the French Naval Group. Where Australia replaced the French submarines with others powered by nuclear propulsion.
For its part, Beijing also expressed its strong opposition to Canberra's possession of submarines, describing the plan as "dangerous" and aimed at besieging China.
It is said that this will be the first time since the 1960s that a country has acquired U.S. nuclear propulsion technology.
