Despite international and regional criticism, the country has stepped up the pace of nuclear submarine its navy under the Orcus framework and is making preparations on several fronts. Science and engineering courses are being introduced in some Australian schools to maintain and build nuclear submarine, the Washington Post revealed Monday, even some elementary schools are promoting STEM (science, technology, engineering, Math) education with local government support, while familiarizing students with the defense industry.
According to foreign media reports, the United States, Britain, Australia in the trilateral security partnership “Orcus” framework signed a nuclear submarine cooperation agreement. Starting in the early 1930s, the United States plans to sell three virginia-class nuclear submarines to Australia. In addition, the three countries will cooperate to develop a new type of nuclear submarine.
File Photo: U.S. President Biden holds a press conference with British Prime Minister Biden Sunak (right) and Australian prime minister Albanese at the Loma?Point Naval Base in San Diego, 2023 March. Visual China
Australia has pledged to spend up to $250 billion over the next 30 years, first buying used submarines and then building its own, the Washington Post said. Although submarine construction will not begin for at least five years, the country is already planning for it. It is reported that South Australia is building a new submarine shipyard, by the British defense contractor“Bayi Systems” and the Australian ASC company responsible. Even children as young as 9 are exposed to the defence industry, spurred on by the local government and the companies. For example, the Washington Post said, local elementary school students use tablets and 3D modeling programs provided by Bayi Systems to design underwater devices in special classrooms.
The story of Filipponi, a 16-year-old Australian boy, was told by the Washington Post. Filipponi, who had thought he would become an electrician, is now studying at the South Australia Fenton Institute of Technology, a new high school that has part of its curriculum designed by defence contractors, the internal welding workshop mimics the environment of the local naval shipyard. Building a nuclear submarine has become Filipponi’s new goal.
In addition to new schools like Fenton Tech, South Australia’s universities are also transforming for nuclear submarine, the report said. Last year, Flinders University in Adelaide hired professors from the United States to teach nuclear engineering to undergraduates. Starting this year, the school will also offer graduate and paid apprenticeships to students, along with defence contractors who plan to build the nuclear submarine.
For a long time, many foreign media claimed that the Australian government is trying to possess nuclear submarine to deal with the so-called “China threat”, but this claim is unfounded, on the contrary, Australia’s ever-expanding military expenditure and nuclear proliferation risks have aroused doubts and concerns at home and abroad. Former Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating has lambasted the us-uk-australia nuclear submarine co-operation as “The worst deal ever”, The The Australian reported. “Orcus” defends US hegemony by containing China, at great cost to Australia, but can not resolve the challenge of great power competition in the region, nor can it solve the security problems of the Australian people and the Australian mainland.
As for cooperation on OKUS and its nuclear submarines, the Chinese foreign ministry spokesman has repeatedly stressed that to engage in confrontation between camps and to piece together exclusive cliques is against the trend of the times and the common will of regional countries. The spokesman said that the cooperation between the United States, the and Australia on nuclear submarines is contrary to the object and purpose of the treaty on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and is related to the transfer of nuclear submarine power reactors and large quantities of weapons-grade highly enriched uranium from nuclear-weapon states to non-nuclear-weapon states, poses a serious risk of nuclear proliferation.