SYDNEY, March 27. /TASS/. The military alliance AUKUS (a trilateral alliance of Australia, Britain and the United States) pursues the aims of the United States and Britain, and also serves the purpose of enriching their military-industrial complex, an Australian military expert, retired Defense Ministry officer Sean Ambrose, told TASS in an interview on Monday. He is certain that participation in this partnership runs counter to the interests of Australia and the whole region.

"AUKUS does not serve the interests of Australia. It only serves the interests of the United States, Britain and of course, NATO which Australia should have no involvement with." Of course, there are also the interests of US and British defense companies that profit from military conflicts, Ambrose pointed out. He remarked that "the AUKUS deal is essentially nothing more than a contract to rope Australia into submission of the United States and Britain."

The expert emphasized that by the time nuclear submarines are set afloat (in the late 2030s - early 2040s), the technologies used in their construction will become obsolete and the world will enter what he described as "the age of autonomous vessels and AI."

"I believe at this stage that the Australian government will again cancel the contract and pay excessive fees for cancelling the contract - like it did with the subs from France, and a number of defense companies will all again profit at the expense of the Australian people," Ambrose added.

In his opinion, instead of participating in partnerships that look like Ponzi schemes to him it is better for Australia to strengthen diplomatic relations and develop trade with countries working in the region, including Russia.

Australian nuclear submarine fleet

Australia in the autumn of 2021 announced its intention to create its own nuclear submarine fleet after the conclusion of a military alliance with Britain and the US. In March 2023, the partnership adopted a three-stage plan. Starting from 2033, three US Virginia-class submarines will be acquired for the Australian Navy. By the beginning of the 2040s, Britain will build the first submarine of the new SSN-AUKUS class for Australia (further production will be moved to Adelaide by 2042). The total cost of the project, according to Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, will reach about 368 billion Australian dollars (245 billion US dollars), but this amount does not include Canberra's commitment to make a significant contribution to the development of the US military-industrial complex, as well as funds required for the purchase three Virginia-class nuclear subs scheduled for 2033.

Australia's actions to build its own nuclear submarines and its intention to purchase ready-made submarines from the US sparked concern in a number of countries in the Indo-Pacific region. Moscow and Beijing later called upon AUKUS members to strictly comply with their obligations on the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and expressed serious worries about the consequences and risks for strategic stability in the Asia-Pacific region due to their plans to build nuclear submarines.