Scott Morrison to make urgent announcement on major international security issue involving US and UK

The Prime Minister is set to make an urgent announcement on Thursday morning about a major international security initiative to counter the rise of China.

After a series of secret late-night briefings, Scott Morrison is poised to divulge details on the future of the submarine program amid reports Australia will make the switch to nuclear-powered subs with help from the UK and US.

The new partnership between the long-time allies is also being announced by US President Joe Biden at 5pm local time.

The working group, known by the acronym AUUKUS, will allow the three allies to share information in artificial intelligence, cyber, underwater systems and long-range strike capabilities, according to Politico, citing a White House official and congressional staffer.

Both already nuclear-capable nations, the UK and the US will also advise Australia on acquiring nuclear-powered submarines.

The move towards a nuclear Australia has been described as ‘China’s Worst Nightmare’ in a strategic bid to counter its influence in the region – especially in the South China Sea.

Australia is set to follow its allies the US and UK which both use nuclear technology after it was speculated to tear up the $90b submarine project with France

Pictured: The USS Rafael Peralta (DDG 115) is seen firing the 5-inch gun for Naval Surface Fire Support during Exercise Talisman Sabre 2021 in Queensland

Australia’s relationship with China has become increasingly hostile ever since Mr Morrison demanded an inquiry into the origins of the Covid pandemic, which originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019.

Arbitrary bans and trade tariffs were imposed on billions of dollars worth of key Australian exports to China including barley, wine, beef, cotton, seafood, coal, cobber and timber.

Australia is now set to follow its allies the US and UK, who both use nuclear technology, with speculation it would tear up the $90billion submarine project with France.

Senior Australian ministers were involved in a flurry of late-night meetings on the top secret shipbuilding program on Wednesday, with Anthony Albanese and other senior Labor MPs briefed on the matter.

The move has been described as ‘China’s Worst Nightmare’ in a strategic bid to counter its influence in the region

China has inflamed tensions in the South China Sea in recent years by expanding its claimed territory, to the objection of its neighbors in the Asia-Pacific

The Prime Minister reportedly held concerns French owned shipbuilder Naval Group would not be able to deliver submarines until 2030 with deadline and price disputes.

Mr Morrison reportedly tried to speak with the French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday regarding the new deal.

News of Australia’s decision was instead reportedly disclosed to Paris by the secretary of the Defence Department, Greg Moriarty, reported the ABC.

The Australian Naval Institute has repeatedly criticised the troubled French submarine project while welcoming the use of nuclear technology.

‘With regional tensions increasing, then building our own one-off type submarines which will arrive in the early 2030s is not good enough. We have no guarantee they will work,’ the article stated.

‘When we built the Collins class submarines (at exorbitant expense) they did not work properly for several years.

‘Instead we should buy 12 of a proven design which is already in the water. We want long-range hunter-killer vessels. We also want them to be able to stay submerged for long periods to avoid detection. Nuclear does this in spades.’

It is speculated the US had planned to operate some of its nuclear submarines from Perth’s naval base HMAS Stirling.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison (pictured) is set to make an announcement on Thursday morning over the country’s international security initiative

The UK, which also uses nuclear technology is expected to support Australia with the move in the three-nation security pact.

Sources say plan is a move to counter China’s rise in the technology and military sectors.

It is one of a string of initiatives designed to demonstrate Washington’s global role after the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Biden will next week host his first in-person summit of leaders of the Quad nations — made up of Australia, India, Japan and the United States — which have been coordinating against China’s growing reach.

‘Hosting the leaders of the Quad demonstrates the Biden-Harris administration’s priority of engaging in the Indo-Pacific, including through new multilateral configurations to meet the challenges of the 21st century, said Press Secretary Jen Psaki as she announced the September 24 summit in a statement.

How China’s feud with Australia has escalated

2019: Australian intelligence services conclude that China was responsible for a cyber-attack on Australia’s parliament and three largest political parties in the run-up to a May election.

April 2020: Australian PM Scott Morrison begins canvassing his fellow world leaders for an inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic. Britain and France are initially reluctant but more than 100 countries eventually back an investigation.

April 15: Morrison is one of the few leaders to voice sympathy with Donald Trump’s criticisms of the World Health Organization, which the US president accuses of bias towards China.

April 21: China’s embassy accuses Australian foreign minister Peter Dutton of ‘ignorance and bigotry’ and ‘parroting what those Americans have asserted’ after he called for China to be more transparent about the outbreak.

April 23: Australia’s agriculture minister David Littleproud calls for G20 nations to campaign against the ‘wet markets’ which are common in China and linked to the earliest coronavirus cases.

April 26: Chinese ambassador Cheng Jingye hints at a boycott of Australian wine and beef and says tourists and students might avoid Australia ‘while it’s not so friendly to China’. Canberra dismisses the threat and warns Beijing against ‘economic coercion’.

May 11: China suspends beef imports from four of Australia’s largest meat processors. These account for more than a third of Australia’s $1.1billion beef exports to China.

May 18: The World Health Organization backs a partial investigation into the pandemic, but China says it is a ‘joke’ for Australia to claim credit. The same day, China imposes an 80 per cent tariff on Australian barley. Australia says it may challenge this at the WTO.

May 21: China announces new rules for iron ore imports which could allow Australian imports – usually worth $41billion per year – to be singled out for extra bureaucratic checks.

June 5: Beijing warns tourists against travelling to Australia, alleging racism and violence against the Chinese in connection with Covid-19.

June 9: China’s Ministry of Education warns students to think carefully about studying in Australia, similarly citing alleged racist incidents.

June 19: Australia says it is under cyber-attack from a foreign state which government sources say is believed to be China. The attack has been targeting industry, schools, hospitals and government officials, Morrison says.

July 9: Australia suspends extradition treaty with Hong Kong and offers to extend the visas of 10,000 Hong Kongers who are already in Australia over China’s national security law which effectively bans protest.

August 18: China launches 12-month anti-dumping investigation into wines imported from Australia in a major threat to the $6billion industry.

August 26: Prime Minster Scott Morrison announces he will legislate to stop states and territories signing deals with foreign powers that go against Australia’s foreign policy. Analysts said it is aimed at China.

October 13: Trade Minister Simon Birmingham says he’s investigating reports that Chinese customs officials have informally told state-owned steelmakers and power plants to stop Aussie coal, leaving it in ships off-shore.

November 2: Agriculture Minister David Littleproud reveals China is holding up Aussie lobster imports by checking them for minerals.

November 3: Barley, sugar, red wine, logs, coal, lobster and copper imports from Australia unofficially banned under a directive from the government, according to reports.

November 18: China releases bizarre dossier of 14 grievances with Australia.

November 27: Australian coal exports to China have dropped 96 per cent in the first three weeks of November as 82 ships laden with 8.8million tonnes of coal are left floating off Chinese ports where they have been denied entry.

November 28: Beijing imposed a 212 per cent tariff on Australia’s $1.2 billion wine exports, claiming they were being ‘dumped’ or sold at below-cost. The claim is denied by both Australia and Chinese importers.

November 30: Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lijian Zhao posted a doctored image showing a grinning Australian soldier holding a knife to the throat of an Afghan child. The move outraged Australians.

December 12: Australian coal is added to a Chinese blacklist.

December 24: China suspends imports of Australian timber from NSW and WA after local customs officers say they found pests in the cargo.

January 11, 2021: Australia blocks $300million construction deal that would have seen state-owned China State Construction Engineering Corporation takeover Probuild. The bid was blacked over national security concerns.

February 5, 2021: China confirms Melbourne journalist and single mother Cheng Lei has been formally arrested after being detained in August, 2020.

February 23, 2021: China accuses Australia of being in an ‘axis of white supremacy’ with the UK, USA, Canada and NZ in an editorial.

March 11, 2021: Australia is accused of genocide by a Communist Party newspaper editor.

March 15, 2021: Trade Minister Dan Tehan announced he wants the World Trade Organisation to help mediate discussions between the two countries over the trade dispute.

April 21, 2021: Foreign Minister Marise Payne announces Australia has scrapped Victoria’s controversial Belt and Road deal with China using new veto powers.

May 6, 2021: China indefinitely suspends all strategic economic talks with Australia, blaming the Morrison Government’s attitude towards the relationship. The move cuts off all diplomatic contact with Beijing under the China-Australia Strategic Economic Dialogue, freezing discussions between key officials below a ministerial level.

June 22, 2021: China tries to ‘ambush’ Australia with a push to officially declare the Great Barrier Reef ‘in danger’

Mr Morrison, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga will attend.

She added the leaders will discuss Covid-19, the climate crisis, emerging technologies, and promoting a ‘free and open Indo-Pacific’ – diplomatic speak for countering China’s ambitions.

Leaders will be focused on deepening our ties and advancing practical cooperation on areas such as combatting the pandemic, addressing the climate crisis, partnering on emerging technologies and cyberspace, and promoting a free and open Indo-Pacific.

Bill Hagerty, Republican senator and former ambassador to Japan, welcomed the plan after the ‘debacle’ of the withdrawal from Afghanistan.

‘Biden’s Afghanistan withdrawal debacle made India’s neighborhood more dangerous & raises legitimate questions for Japan and Australia as well, so it’s good we will be hosting Quad partners soon,’ he said on Twitter.

Officials are increasingly concerned at the way China is laying claim to the South China Sea, ignoring other nations territorial claims (pictured, Chinese troops marching during a military parade in Tiananmen Square in Beijing)

‘We must repair & renew our alliances, and this one is key.’

Officials are increasingly concerned at the way China is laying claim to the South China Sea, ignoring other nations territorial claims.

Under current international law Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines, Indonesia, China and Taiwan all claim a portion of the South China Sea.

A Congressional report from earlier in July found China ‘gaining effective control’ of the region in recent years, which is rich in oil and natural gas deposits, by increasing their military presence and building up artificial islands.

As a result, the US and allies make frequent ‘freedom of navigation’ voyages through international waters in the region, drawing angry rebukes from Beijing.

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