Marise Payne (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator Abetz, for your question. AUKUS is a significant and historic enhancement of Australia's cooperation with the United Kingdom and the United States to promote both security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific in line with our shared values. This is a task on which we've worked together for more than 70 years. But today we face a growing set of challenges in our region. Military modernisation is occurring in our region at an increasing rate and capabilities are advancing rapidly with ever-expanding reach. To meet these challenges and to help deliver the security and stability our region needs we are taking our partnership to a new level, building on our three nations' longstanding bilateral ties. The AUKUS partnership will provide a foundation for deepening cooperation on a range of emerging security and defence capabilities.

As announced, the first initiative is the acquisition for the Royal Australian Navy of a nuclear powered submarine fleet, leveraging decades of experience from both the United Kingdom and the United States. As a three-ocean nation, it is necessary for Australia to have access to the most capable submarine technology available. However, beyond that, the initiative will see wide cooperation in the most critical areas of innovation that will shape the 21st century, including cybercapabilities, artificial intelligence, quantum technologies and additional undersea capabilities. Through AUKUS, we will foster deeper integration of security and defence related science, technology, industrial bases and supply chains. AUKUS is a partnership where our technology, our scientists, our industry and our defence forces will work together more closely than ever before to deliver a safer and more secure Indo-Pacific that ultimately benefits all nations.