Context

The US, UK and Australia have unveiled details of their plan to create a new fleet of nuclear-powered submarines, aimed at countering China's influence in the Indo-Pacific region.

Background:

• The AUKUS pact was signed on September 2021.
• In June 2022, US lawmakers introduced a bill called the ‘Australia-US Submarine Officer Pipeline Act’ to train Royal Australian Navy officers in the operation of nuclear submarines.

The AUKUS pact:

• The AUKUS — Australia, U.K., U.S. — defense pact is a three-way cooperation program which essentially brings the former into the nuclear sub club while extending Britain and America’s reach into a Pacific region rapidly becoming the key global theater for the century to come.
• The agreement is aimed at preserving a “free and open” Indo Pacific.
• The core of AUKUS is a pledge by America and Britain to help Australia build at least eight nuclear-powered—but not nuclear-armed—attack submarines, which are known as SSNS (subs that carry intercontinental nuclear missiles are known as SSBNS, the “B” standing for “ballistic”).
• Important Pillars:

• Pillar One: The first and largest part of the agreement is the submarine contract, also known as Pillar One.
• Pillar Two: The second AUKUS pillar will involve improving our defence capabilities with the assistance of the UK and the US in general.

Key features:

• The British work to replace their Astute-class submarines will be “leveraged” to continue design and development work on a brand-new submarine known as ‘the SSN-AUKUS’.
• Submarine, which will eventually be operated by the UK and Australia employing US combat systems, will be referred to as the ‘AUKUS Class’.
• Funding mechanism: Australia will also provide $3 billion over the next four years to production lines in the US and the UK as part of its financial commitment, with the US receiving the majority of the funding for improvement.

What is a nuclear-powered submarine?

• A nuclear-powered submarine is powered by a nuclear reactor. But it is not a nuclear weapon.
• Every nuclear-powered submarine draws from its own miniature nuclear reactor on board, which is typically fuelled with uranium.
• For such a reactor to work, uranium has to be ‘enriched’ to contain 50 percent of a key isotope, uranium-235.
• Natural uranium consists of approximately 99.3 per cent of the isotope uranium-238 and only 0.7 per cent of uranium-235.
• The process of enrichment can be carried out through gaseous diffusion, gas centrifuges or laser isotope separation.
• Only six nations own and operate these submarines currently: China, France, India, Russia, the UK and the US.

Types of nuclear-powered submarines:

SSNs are the oldest type of nuclear-powered submarines and the first of these, the American-made Nautilus, was deployed in 1954 by the US.

• Nuclear-powered submarines can be divided into three broad categories:
  • the nuclear-powered fast-attack submarines or SSNs
  • the nuclear-powered ballistic submarines or SSBNs
  • the nuclear-powered cruise missile submarines or SSGNs

Impacts of the deal:

• China’s Concern: China is delayed more by AUKUS than Quad and other Indo-Pacific arrangements for the following reasons,

• • First, AUKUS aims to protect the strategic interests of the partner in the region across the two seas and 38 countries.
  • Second, it is a message to China that the US will one day do the same to other countries in the region. Sharing military and critical skills such as cyber, artificial intelligence, and computing. It is a cause for concern in China, as these are the key areas in which China currently governs.
  • Third, AUKUS is a security group, unlike QUAD, which is a communication group.
  • Fourth, the Declaration marks a new decline in Australia-China relations. China is Australia's largest trading partner, with about US $ 200 billion trading in two ways. But the relationship has been strained over the past few years.
• For these reasons alone, China called the new AUKUS alliance "extremely damaging to the peace and stability of the region".

What does the AUKUS Security Alliance mean in India?

India and the nuclear submarine industry: The Navy currently has 15 conventional submarines- Akula class SSN Chakra, on a decade-long lease from Russia, has been returned recently, slightly ahead of schedule. India has already signed a deal for the lease of another such submarine and the project is underway. It does not have a nuclear-powered conventional attack submarine.

• According to Indian Observers, the partnership is very beneficial to India. As India has been at the forefront of uniting the unity of the Indo-Pacific countries. Benefits include,
  • Develop Indian partners in the region: AUKUS and the future US military base on Australian soil will support India's efforts to protect the Indo-Pacific.
  • Provide much needed time in India to build naval capabilities: In addition, AUKUS will buy some valuable time for India to strengthen its rural military capabilities.
  • Develop India's ambitions for international relations: Partnerships will allow India to demand more of its foreign policy and defence strategy.