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Showing posts with the label Australian navy

Japan Won't Build Australia's Submarines (But That's Not a Win for China) ( Source- The National Interest / Author- Sam Roggeveen)

HMAS Rankin (Credits- Wikimedia Commons / United States Navy) Source- The National Interest Author-  Sam Roggeveen So Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbll has announced that the next generation of Australian submarines will be built by French firm DCNS. The big political story is that this announcement will help secure the Government a number of South Australian seats in the upcoming election. The big strategic story is not so much who won this bid but who lost it: Japan. The Interpreter has debated exhaustively the strategic implications of this decision: would a sub deal with Mitsubishi Heavy Industry bring us closer to Japan? Would we form a quasi-alliance that might entangle us in Japan’s increasingly fractious relationship with China? What does that mean for our China-exposed trading industry? Over coming days we may well see stories emerge of Chinese relief at this decision, and maybe even implications that Australia has buckled to Chinese pressure not to choose

Australia’s Submarine Decision: A Matter Of Grand Strategy – Analysis ( Source- Eurasia Review / Author- Sam Bateman)

Japanese Soryu class submarine under construction ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons / Hunini) Source- Eurasia Review Author- Sam Bateman Australia’s future submarine programme is the largest and most complex defence procurement in the nation’s history. The decision as to which submarine to choose has become one of grand strategy with far-reaching economic, political, and strategic consequences. While technical issues to establish the “best” submarine remain important, strategic, political and economic factors are also key determinants of the decision. It could have significant impact on Australia’s regional relations and the ability of Australia to act independently within the region. The three contenders in the current evaluation process are: France’s state-controlled naval contractor DCNS offering a conventional-powered version of the nuclear-powered Barracuda-class submarine; ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) of Germany with a Type 216 Class submarine, an up-size