Aukus deal is ‘living a lie’: Australia will never get nuclear submarines from US and both sides know it, Bob Carr says

Source: The Guardian Australia · 2026-11-13T02:00:05.000Z · Politics

Exclusive: Former Labor foreign affairs minister says $368bn deal has been reduced to a diplomatic joke Get our daily political email , free app or daily news podcast The former Labor foreign affairs minister Bob Carr says officials in Canberra and Washington acknowledge that the US will never build and sell nuclear submarines to Australia, describing the $368bn Aukus agreement as the two countries “living a lie”. Carr, a leading critic of the deal, expects American-operated vessels will instead be stationed at bases in Australia, with a future US president likely to determine that China’s military might would make it too difficult for three or more Virginia-class nuclear submarines to be transferred to Australia. Sign up for Guardian Australia’s Politics, really newsletter here Continue reading...

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