Australia remains on track to acquire its first nuclear-powered submarine from the United States, Defence Minister Richard Marles said on Wednesday. Speaking on the sidelines of ASEAN meetings in the Philippines, he said Australia was working at pace to deliver the pathway to a nuclear-powered submarine capability. The first Virginia-class boats are expected from around 2030 under the AUKUS partnership with the United States and Britain.

A pact under close regional watch

The submarine programme is the centrepiece of AUKUS, a security partnership that has drawn close attention across the Indo-Pacific since it was announced. Marles also met US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth during the ASEAN gatherings, describing the alliance as important today as it has ever been. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in August that the pact remained full steam ahead, a message Canberra has repeated as questions persist about delivery timelines and industrial capacity.

What the timetable still depends on

The 2030 date is a ministerial assurance about the current pathway, not a delivery that has already happened, and large defence programmes of this kind are vulnerable to delay. Shipyard capacity, crew training, maintenance arrangements and the parallel development of Australia's own future submarine class will all test whether the schedule holds. For now, however, the Australian government is presenting the programme as proceeding as planned, with no change of direction signalled in Marles's remarks.

The timing of the statement matters because it comes during a busy period of regional diplomacy, when allies are keen to show that long-term commitments survive changes of government and shifting strategic pressures. Whether the early-2030s target is met will become clearer as construction milestones, training pipelines and support infrastructure are reported in the years ahead. Until then, the significance of Marles's intervention lies in its reassurance: Canberra wants partners and critics alike to hear that the plan has not slipped.

Sources: Reuters and Reuters (via KTWB).