National

Nuclear subs dominate US ministerial trip

By AAP Newswire

Dec 7, 2022

Australian and US flags — Defence Min Richard Marles and Foreign Min Penny Wong will meet their US counterparts on Wednesday. -AP

Two top Australian ministers are holding high-level security talks in Washington as Canberra looks to seal the deal on a nuclear-powered submarine design.

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Defence Minister Richard Marles and Foreign Minister Penny Wong will meet their United States counterparts on Wednesday morning (AEDT) for the annual AUSMIN talks.

Mr Marles is making the final decisions on whether Australia will sign up for a US or UK nuclear submarine design under the trilateral AUKUS alliance, which is set to underpin the nation's security for decades.

There has also been speculation Washington could provide Australia with an off-the-shelf submarine in the interim, with the first nuclear-propelled vessel not set to hit the water until the end of the next decade.

Crisis Group head Comfort Ero said there remained the risk of an unintentional military confrontation between the US and China in the near future, especially with heightened tensions over Taiwan.

The president of the independent conflict watchdog said Australia was being cautious to not be caught between two rampant elephants as it negotiates the path forward to acquire nuclear submarines.

"Canberra prefers US-China relations to not become too contentious," she told AAP.

"There's a sense in which Canberra prefers it doesn't get caught up in that in that struggle."

Mr Marles also held bilateral talks with US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin.

The US ambassador to Australia Caroline Kennedy is also travelling with the pair.