AUSTRALIAN Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed his upcoming visit to the United States to meet US President Joe Biden and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and talk about the AUKUS defense partnership.
Albanese said he looks forward to the continuing engagement with the US administration but refused to divulge more details about the upcoming meeting.
“I look forward to the continuing engagement that I have with the US administration,” said Anthony Albanese, Prime Minister of Australia.
On Thursday, a Spokesperson for British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak confirmed he would visit the United States to talk about the AUKUS defense agreement.
People familiar with the matter said that Biden, Albanese, and Sunak will travel to San Diego on Monday to hold the trilateral meeting, potentially aboard a submarine.
Launched on September 2021, the AUKUS deal or the Trilateral Defense Agreement between Australia, UK, and US aims to counter China’s military power and growing influence in the Indo-Pacific.
US restrictions on technology and information-sharing towards other AUKUS members delayed the project, even though for the fact that Australia is part of the so-called five eyes intelligence-sharing community which also includes other members like Canada, New Zealand, the UK, and the US.
More than a month after the AUKUS deal was announced, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesman Wang Wenbin said the Trilateral Security Pact is a violation of the treaty on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons (NPT) and urged the three countries to abandon the cold war zero-sum mentality.
During his visit, Albanese is expected to sign a long-awaited deal to build a fleet of nuclear submarines and for the three allied nations to announce their preferred design that will replace Australia’s aging Collins-class fleet.