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US nuclear powered submarine, USS Missouri. Photo/wikimediacommons
WASHINGTON – Australia has insisted it will keep United States (US) nuclear propulsion technology under strict lock after gaining access to sensitive information.
Australia’s envoy to Washington pledged to protect America’s “crown jewels”.
Addressing an audience at the US think tank on Thursday (2/3/2023), Ambassador Arthur Sinodinos said much progress had been made on the three-way AUKUS deal signed between the US, Australia and the UK in 2021, details of which will be revealed later this month This.
“The fact that Americans are ready to share their crown jewels with us implies that there must be progress in the seamless transfer of technology. None of us want this to stall,” he told the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington DC.
“And I think that state of mind has now permeated various levels of (US) administration,” said Sinodinos.
Although details of the transfer of the submarine technology have not been made public, Sinodinos said Australia had “reassured the Americans” and pointed out “the sort of information safeguards we take in place to ensure they understand that their technology is secure in the event of leakage to third parties.”
The US maintains strict export controls on certain military hardware, which have created barriers to past shipments of weapons abroad.
Sinodinos suggested Australia could be granted an exemption under American regulations, saying “work is in progress” but “not done yet.”
In December, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin met his British and Australian counterparts to further hammer out the AUKUS deal.
