美國開始在澳洲戰略海岸部署潛艦部隊 - 基於AUKUS聯盟

 Recently Yahoo News on-line picked up the following:

US starts to build submarine presence on strategic Australian coast under AUKUS

Sun, March 16, 2025 at 7:50 a.m. PDT·3 min read

By Kirsty Needham

PERTH (Reuters) - In the control room of the American Virginia class attack submarine USS Minnesota, off the Western Australian coast, sonar operators adjust to the chatter of dolphins in new waters where the U.S. submarine presence will soon grow significantly.

On a training exercise from its home port in Guam, USS Minnesota is a forerunner to four Virginia class submarines that will be hosted at a Western Australian naval base from 2027, under the AUKUS partnership to transfer nuclear submarine capability to Australia.

Crew use video game joysticks to interrogate screen images from a photonic mast that has replaced a periscope. Life aboard can mean up to 100 days without seeing sunlight, and intermittent communication with families via email to maintain stealth.

Commanding officer Jeffrey Corneille says the Virginia class submarine is "the most advanced warship in the world".

"If someone wakes up and they say 'Is today the day?', we make sure that they say 'Maybe not'," he says, describing its deterrent role.

Around 50-80 United States navy personnel will arrive by the middle of the year at Western Australia's HMAS Stirling base, which is undergoing an A$8 billion ($5 billion) upgrade to prepare for the "Submarine Rotational Force West", Australian officials have said.

In two years, those numbers will swell to hundreds of U.S. navy personnel and support crew.

The location of HMAS Stirling, closer to Asia and the Indian Ocean than the U.S. Pacific fleet headquarters in Hawaii, is strategically important to the United States, said Peter Dean, director of Foreign Policy and Defence at the United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney.

"Defending the Indian Ocean against rising Chinese capabilities and power is important," he said.

The Virginia submarine program has been exempted from Pentagon budget cuts as the Trump administration focuses less on the Middle East and Europe, and more on the Indo Pacific, he said.

The Trump administration's number three Pentagon official, Elbridge Colby, told a U.S. Senate confirmation hearing this month the attack submarines are "absolutely essential" for making the defence of Taiwan viable, and production rates must be lifted to first meet U.S. needs and also to fulfill its obligations to sell submarines to Australia under the AUKUS pact.

The USS Minnesota moved its home port from Hawaii to the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam, closer to Taiwan and the only forward-deployed U.S. submarine base, in November.

A Chinese navy task group that circumnavigated Australia in February and March, holding unprecedented live fire drills off the east coast that disrupted commercial airlines, before passing Western Australia to coincide with the USS Minnesota's port call and heading into the Indian Ocean, has highlighted China's ambition to operate more frequently in Australia's neighbourhood, Australian officials said.

Under AUKUS, Australia’s most expensive defence project, Australia will buy two used Virginia class submarines next decade, and build a new class of nuclear powered submarine with Britain, to replace its ageing diesel powered fleet.

In preparation, there are 115 Australians in the U.S. nuclear navy training pipeline or on Virginia submarines, plus 130 training for nuclear submarine maintenance at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, U.S. navy officials said.

(Reporting by Kirsty Needham in Perth; editing by Giles Elgood)

Translation

美國開始在澳洲戰略海岸部署潛艦部隊 - 基於AUKUS聯盟

珀斯（路透社）— 在西澳大利亞海岸附近的美國弗吉尼亞級攻擊潛艇明尼蘇達號的控制室裡，聲納操作員正在適應新海域海豚的鳴叫，美國潛艇的出現將很快地顯著增加。

明尼蘇達號核潛艇正在關島母港進行訓練演習，它是四艘弗吉尼亞級潛艇的前身。根據 AUKUS 合作夥伴關係，將核潛艇能力轉移給澳洲, 將於 2027 年在西澳大利亞海軍基地作客。

機組人員使用電玩操縱桿, 向取代潛望鏡的光子桅杆的螢幕影像獲取信息用。在船上的生活意味著長達 100 天都見不到陽光，並且只能透過電子郵件與家人斷斷續續地溝通以保持隱密。

指揮官Jeffrey Corneille 說，維吉尼亞級潛艦是「世界上最先進的軍艦」。

當他在描述其威懾作用時說道 :“如果有人醒來後問 ‘今天是那一天嗎？’，我們會確保他們會說 ‘也許不是’ ” 。

澳洲官員表示，約有 50 至 80 名美國海軍人員將於今年年中抵達西澳大利亞的皇家海軍(HMAS) Stirling基地，該基地正在進行耗資 80 億澳元（50 億美元）的升級，為「西部潛艇輪換部隊」做準備。

兩年內，這一數字將增加到數百名美國海軍人員和支援人員。

雪梨大學美國研究中心外交政策與國防問題主任 Peter Dean 表示，HMAS Stirling 基地的位置比位於夏威夷的美國太平洋艦隊總部更靠近亞洲和印度洋，對美國具有重要的戰略意義。

他說： “保衛印度洋抵禦中國不斷增強的能力和力量至關重要。”

他說，由於特朗普政府的重點不再是中東和歐洲，而是更關注印度太平洋地區，維吉尼亞潛艇計劃免受五角大廈預算削減的影響。

特朗普政府五角大廈官員三號人物 Elbridge Colby 本月在美國參議院的確認聽證會上表示，攻擊型潛艇對於保衛台灣 “絕對必要” ，必須提高潛艇生產率，首先滿足美國的需求，同時也要履行其根據 AUKUS 條約向澳大利亞出售潛艇的義務。

11 月，明尼蘇達號潛水艇將其母港從夏威夷遷至美國太平洋領土關島，該地更靠近台灣，也是美國唯一的前線部署潛艇基地。

澳洲官員稱，中國海軍編隊於 2 月和 3 月繞澳大利亞航行，在東海岸舉行了史無前例的實彈演習，導致商業航班中斷，其艘驅逐艦經過西澳大利亞，然後與美國海軍明尼蘇達號驅逐艦的停靠港口同步，再駛入印度洋，這凸顯了中國在澳洲週邊地區開展更頻繁活動的抱負。

根據澳洲最昂貴的國防計劃 AUKUS，澳洲將在未來十年購買兩艘二手維吉尼亞級潛艦，並與英國共同建造一艘新型核動力潛艦，以取代其老化的柴油動力艦隊。

美國海軍官員說，在準備階段，有 115 名澳洲人在美國的核海軍系統性訓練流程中，或在維吉尼亞號潛艇上接受訓練，另外還有 130 名澳洲人在夏威夷珍珠港接受核潛艇維護培訓。

       So, under AUKUS, Australia will buy two used Virginia class submarines next decade, and build a new class of nuclear-powered submarine with Britain. Meanwhile around 50-80 United States navy personnel will arrive at Western Australia's HMAS Stirling base. Apparently, Australia’s navy force is expanding in response to the challenges from China.

Note:

1. AUKUS , also styled as Aukus, is a trilateral security partnership between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States intended to "promote a free and open Indo-Pacific that is secure and stable." This partnership involves two lines of effort referred to as pillars. Pillar 1 focuses on Australia acquiring nuclear-powered attack submarines and the rotational basing of US and UK nuclear-powered attack submarines in Australia. Pillar 2 is about the collaborative development of advanced capabilities in six technological areas: undersea capabilities, quantum technologies, artificial intelligence and autonomy, advanced cyber, hypersonic and counter-hypersonic capabilities, and electronic warfare; and in two broader functional areas: innovation and information sharing.(Wikipedia)

2. HMAS Stirling is a Royal Australian Navy (RAN) base that is part of Fleet Base West situated on the west coast of Australia, on the Indian Ocean. The base is located on Garden Island in the state of Western Australia, near the city of Perth.