The leaders of the Australia-UK-US (AUKUS) partnership – Australian Prime Minister, Scott Morrison; UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and USA President, Joe Biden – have committed to expand cooperation on hypersonic weapons and electronic warfare capabilities.
In a statement, Australian PM said the leaders had reaffirmed their commitment to AUKUS and to a free and open Indo-Pacific.
“In light of Russia’s unprovoked, unjustified, and unlawful invasion of Ukraine, we reiterated our unwavering commitment to an international system that respects human rights, the rule of law, and the peaceful resolution of disputes free from coercion,” Mr Morrison said.
He said the partnership was pleased with the progress in its trilateral program for Australia to establish a conventionally armed, nuclear‑powered submarine capability.
“We are fully committed to establishing a robust approach to sharing naval propulsion technology with Australia that strengthens the global non-proliferation regime,” the Prime Minister said.
The leaders committed to commence new trilateral cooperation on hypersonics and counter-hypersonics, and electronic warfare capabilities, as well as to expand information sharing and to deepen cooperation on defense innovation.
“These initiatives will add to our existing efforts to deepen cooperation on cyber capabilities, artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, and additional undersea capabilities.”
“As our work progresses on these and other critical defence and security capabilities, we will seek opportunities to engage allies and close partners,” Mr Morrison said.
