Australia is pouring billions into AUKUS submarines without clear delivery capacity from the UK or the US. The result could be a costly strategic and fiscal mistake – with little to show for it.

Attempts at political wedging can come with a very high price. None though would seem to match that employed in 2021 by Scott Morrison, when in an attempt to save his sinking government, he suddenly pulled AUKUS deal out of the hat. 

‘And boy, have we got a deal for you!’ $368 billion (and no doubt that will sharply rise as military contracts inevitably do) for nuclear powered submarines – the wrong weapon, for a bogus scenario, and one never likely to eventuate.

The justification for the AUKUS project supposedly is protecting our shipping lanes against Chinese interference, thus ensuring that Chinese submarines will not blow their own ships out of the water – those bringing exports from Australia, which they want, and for which they will have already paid. 

If the project was ever to eventuate, it would entail guarding almost 26,000 kilometres of Australian coastline with at best just two of those submarines.

Still, we are meant to take the AUKUS justification seriously, and increasingly, both sides of politics, as well as the defence and intelligence establishments, hold to it as holy grail.........

© Pearls and Irritations