By Dana Malcolm 

Staff Writer  

#TurksandCaicos, March 15, 2023 – The Turks and Caicos’ two largest security partners are moving forward with a 2021 deal with Australia, that will significantly increase their undersea military capability following a visit to the US by UK Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak.  

The trilateral ‘AUKUS’ deal, which equips the UK military with the most powerful submarines it has ever owned, will see Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States partner to build all new SSN-AUKUS subs to be stationed in Australia, and patrol the Pacific Ocean. It’s part of a 5-billion-pound defence package. 

On Monday the UK Government revealed that their submarine design, paired with cutting edge US technology, would begin to be assembled in Australia and the UK and would hit the water by 2030. Starting as early as this year, Australian Military and civilian personnel will be embedded with the U.S. Navy, the Royal Navy, and in the United States and United Kingdom submarine industrial bases to accelerate the training of Australian personnel. 

The deal has angered both China and Russia, who have spoken out against cementing the contract. Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi claims it will introduce an arms race, sabotage the building of a nuclear-weapon-free zone in Southeast Asia and revive the cold war mentality. 

Wang Wenbin, representative of his ministry said, “The three countries, for the sake of their own geopolitical interests, completely disregard the concerns of the international communities and are walking further and further down the path of error and danger.” 

The United Kingdom says the deal has the highest safeguards in place to protect against any nuclear proliferation, and while the subs are nuclear powered, they will not be armed with nuclear weapons and will ‘contribute to global security and stability.’