Australia weighs regional ties in drawn-out submarine acquisition
http://atimes.com/2016/03/australia-weighs-regional-ties-in-drawn-out-submarine-acquisition/
Australian Collins-class submarine on patrol
Australia weighs regional ties in drawn-out submarine acquisition
By John Power on March 26, 2016 in Asia Times News & Features, China, Japan
MELBOURNEIn 2007, a brand new Australian government announced plans to replace its aging submarine fleet by the mid-2020s.
Almost a decade later, Canberra hasnt even chosen which country will supply the boats, a key plank of a far-reaching military buildup largely directed at a rising Asia.
Facing both geopolitical and domestic political concerns, successive governments have dithered on replacing six Collins-class submarines, flitting between proposals on who should build the boats and where, in what number and to what specifications.
Secretive bidding
Since February last year, the drawn-out saga has turned into a
secretive bidding war between Japan, France and Germany to provide 12 new advanced submarines. Each of the parties the state of Japan, and commercial firms in the case of France and Germany is proposing to build a new submarine that will be based on an existing model but modified to meet Australias needs.