On Friday, July 25th, during the Australia-UK Ministerial Consultations (AUKMIN) held in Sydney, Australia, the two countries announced the upcoming signing of a 50-year defense treaty to strengthen bilateral strategic cooperation. This treaty will be incorporated into the framework of the “Australia-UK-US Trilateral Security Partnership” (AUKUS), marking a deepening of military and security cooperation between the two nations over the next half-century.
During the day, UK Defense Minister John Healey and Foreign Secretary David Lammy visited Australia and held talks with Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Richard Marles.
After the meeting, they jointly announced this historic agreement, expected to be signed on July 26th in Marles’ electoral district in Geelong. Healey stated, “This historic treaty confirms our commitment to AUKUS for the next half-century.”
According to the UK government’s statement, the agreement is projected to bring in export revenues of up to £20 billion for the UK over the next 25 years. In addition to previous investments in areas such as Barrow and Derby, this agreement is set to create over 7,000 new job opportunities within the UK’s domestic shipyards and supply chains. The UK estimates that more than 21,000 people will be involved in the construction and support work of the AUKUS nuclear-powered submarines equipped with next-generation conventional weapons.
This meeting is the second AUKMIN held since UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer took office. The UK and Australia currently maintain a biannual ministerial dialogue mechanism.
Australian Defense Minister Marles emphasized that the UK is a “vital partner” for Australia, and both countries will continue to address increasingly complex and uncertain strategic challenges through mechanisms like AUKUS.
Foreign Minister Wong stated, “In this era of uncertainty, we are strengthening and modernizing our partnerships together. We accept the world as it is, but we also strive to make it better.”
Australia, the UK, and the US signed the “AUKUS Security Agreement” in 2021, aimed at assisting Australia in acquiring nuclear-powered attack submarines and deepening trilateral cooperation in military technology, naval capabilities, and Indo-Pacific security. This agreement is seen as a strategic response to China’s expanding influence in the Indo-Pacific region, particularly amid escalating tensions in the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait.
Under the AUKUS plan, Australia is set to purchase at least three Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarines from the US in the early 2030s as an interim arrangement. Eventually, the next-generation AUKUS-class submarines jointly developed by the UK and US will begin delivery in the 2040s and be constructed in Adelaide, South Australia. To support this construction, Australia has already invested over $4 billion, with both the UK and Australia collaborating on the design of the next-generation AUKUS submarines, incorporating small nuclear reactors provided by the UK.
Despite US President Trump initiating a formal review of AUKUS last month to assess its impact on US military resources and naval schedules, Australian officials continue to emphasize the long-term value of this project for US Indo-Pacific strategy, expressing confidence in the prospects for cooperation.
Additionally, the UK Royal Navy’s HMS Prince of Wales aircraft carrier strike group arrived in Darwin, Australia on July 23rd and will participate in the Talisman Sabre 2025 joint military exercise on July 27th. This marks the first visit of a UK carrier strike group to Australia since 1997, showcasing the determination of both countries to deepen military cooperation.
UK High Commissioner to Australia Sarah MacIntosh expressed that the carrier’s visit demonstrates the steadfast commitment of the alliance between the two nations, calling it a “core partnership in a challenging world.”
Senior Analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), Alex Bristow, highlighted that NATO now views China as a threat to its interests, partly due to its alliance with Russia, leading European nations to establish their own alliances in the Indo-Pacific region.
Bristow stated, “For NATO’s European allies, cooperating with Indo-Pacific allies aligns perfectly with their interests.”
(This article references relevant reports from The Epoch Times and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation)