Today, I was very pleased to join two great friends of Australia, Prime Minister Johnson and President Biden.
Together, we joined our nations in a next generation partnership, built on a strong foundation of proven trust.
We have always believed in freedom, the respect for human dignity, the rule of law, the independence of sovereign states and the peaceful fellowship of nations.
Our world is becoming more complex, especially here in the Indo-Pacific.
To meet these challenges, to help deliver the security and stability our region needs, we must now take our partnership to a new level.
Prime Minister Morrison, President Biden, Prime Minister Johnson
Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States have agreed to the creation of an enhanced trilateral security partnership – AUKUS.
A partnership where our technology, our scientists, our industry, our defence forces are all working together to deliver a safer and more secure region.
The first major initiative of AUKUS will be to deliver a nuclear-powered submarine fleet for Australia. Over the next eighteen months, we will work together to seek to determine the best way forward to achieve this.
We intend to build these submarines in Adelaide, Australia, in close cooperation with the United Kingdom and the United States.
But let me be clear, Australia is not seeking to acquire nuclear weapons or establish a civil nuclear capability.
And we will continue to meet all our nuclear non-proliferation obligations.
Australia has a long history of defence cooperation with the United States and the United Kingdom.
For more than a century, we have stood together for the cause of peace and freedom.
And today, we recommit ourselves to this cause and a new AUKUS vision.
For more information about AUKUS, go to: http://aus.pm/aukus
Regards,
Scott Morrison Prime Minister