Antinuclear

Nuclear submarines would make Australian Navy a subordinate arm of US Navy

there are two principal reasons to question any suggestion Australia might acquire the American Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarines. The case has not been made — and it is doubtful that it can be made — that this very high level of submarine capability is a strategic priority for Australia.

More importantly, the likely need for direct American support for the nuclear power plant would put at risk Australia’s capacity for independent sovereign action.

In effect, the submarine arm of the Royal Australian Navy would become a subordinate arm of the US Navy. Independence would become subservience. Would this be in our national interest?

Hardly.

We need submarines, not subservience to the US, BY: PAUL DIBB AND RICHARD BRABIN-SMITH  The Australian January 19, 2012   THERE are two sides to the submarine debate. Both are critical but one is more important than the other.
The government must surely demand that the Department of Defence get the technical aspects right, such as the relationship between capability, cost, and risk. But first it is vital to have a clear view on the strategic drivers, as these set the context for considering what level of capability is a priority.

So what would it mean if, following the ideas of Henry Ergas and Ross Babbage in The Australian (January 13 and 17) we acquired the highly capable nuclear-powered Virginia-class submarines from the US?

We can dismiss the idea that we could operate and maintain by
ourselves, including to the very high levels of safety that the public
would demand, the high-performance and specialist nuclear power-plants
of such boats. Australia has no experience in this demanding field. So
we would necessarily be highly reliant on direct assistance from the
US.
US generosity has its limits. And, as those of us who have negotiated
with the Pentagon can testify, sometimes those limits are reached very
quickly and in ways that do not reflect the very close relationship in
other areas, such as intelligence.

Examples include the well-known case of acoustic tiles for the
submarines, other aspects of stealth technology, areas of electronic
warfare, including source codes that permit us to change the
performance characteristics of US military equipment.

So basing Australia’s ability to operate its future submarines on the
assumption that adequate US technical support would always — and
unstintingly — be available would be a big gamble and one which
experience says would carry considerable risk.

But there is a further and more pressing matter of principle:
Australian national sovereignty. Since the 1970s, Australian
governments of both persuasions have made self-reliance a central
principle of defence policy.

The core element in this policy is that in all but extreme
circumstances the combat capacity of the Australian Defence Force
should be sufficient for Australia’s own defence — and, crucially,
that we should not need to rely on the combat forces of even close
allies such as the US. Such a policy minimises the potential
compromise of Australia’s independent capacity to look after its
sovereign interests. ….
Australia’s responsibility to protect and advance its sovereign
interests means that such a vital capability as the submarine force
must not be vulnerable to the potential divergence of interests
between us and our principal ally. The fact is that the US could
determine whether or not to support the use of “Australian”
Virginia-class submarines in a military conflict we deemed to be in
our national interests, and that Washington did not…….
there are two principal reasons to question any suggestion Australia
might acquire the American Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarines.
The case has not been made — and it is doubtful that it can be made
— that this very high level of submarine capability is a strategic
priority for Australia.

More importantly, the likely need for direct American support for the
nuclear power plant would put at risk Australia’s capacity for
independent sovereign action.

In effect, the submarine arm of the Royal Australian Navy would become
a subordinate arm of the US Navy. Independence would become
subservience. Would this be in our national interest?

Hardly.

Paul Dibb and Richard Brabin-Smith are at the Australian National
University’s Strategic and Defence Studies Centre. Both are former
deputy secretaries of defence. Brabin-Smith was also chief defence
scientist and Dibb was head of defence intelligence.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/opinion/we-need-submarines-not-subservience-to-the-us/story-e6frgd0x-1226247752572

January 19, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, weapons and war