The U.S. plans to deploy up to four nuclear-powered submarines to HMAS Stirling in Western Australia as part of a strategy to deter China.
HMAS STIRLING, Australia -- If the U.S. and China come to blows over Taiwan, this naval base in Western Australia offers a berth to bring American nuclear-powered submarines close to the fight -- and a haven if things go wrong.
Washington plans to deploy up to four submarines to HMAS Stirling in the coming years, with the first due to arrive in 2027, advancing a process of military integration with a Pacific ally with the aim of deterring China. Australia is investing billions of dollars in the base and a maintenance precinct nearby.
For the U.S., the arrangement offers a crucial advantage for a potential conflict with China. The U.S. bases submarines in Guam, but China could hit the U.S. territory with a missile barrage early, possibly knocking out the island's military facilities.
Doing submarine maintenance in Western Australia also gives the U.S. another option for repairs -- in a spot that is relatively close to regional flashpoints, chiefly the South China Sea and Taiwan, the self-governing island that Beijing claims as its own territory, to be seized by force if necessary. A lot of maintenance is currently performed in Guam, Pearl Harbor or the U.S. mainland, defense analysts said, and U.S. shipyards are struggling to keep up.
"If you were in some kind of conflict, and your ships are getting damaged, you're going to want to return to the fight quickly," said Rear Adm. Lincoln Reifsteck, who commands an American submarine group, during a recent visit to the base. "So having this geography to enhance what you have in Guam, to enhance what you have in Pearl Harbor...it's going to make the U.S. Navy able to get back to it faster."
Stirling, about an hour's drive south of Perth, is yet another example of how the U.S. and its allies are integrating their militaries, hoping the show of force ultimately convinces Beijing that it would be too costly to move on Taiwan. U.S. and allied militaries are training together more extensively and buying the same equipment, aiming to make their forces not just interoperable, but interchangeable.
Australia's government is investing about $5.6 billion in Stirling for things like a training center, housing, improvements to the submarine pier, a facility to handle radioactive waste, and power. Late last year, the USS Vermont, a U.S. Virginia-class submarine -- the Navy's most advanced attack submarine -- visited the base for about four weeks. U.S. and Australian personnel worked together on dozens of maintenance tasks on the boat.
The base is on an island and connected to the mainland by a bridge. During a recent visit to the base, cranes could be seen towering over an unfinished building. There were also new apartments with sea views for military personnel.
Nearby on the mainland, Australia has earmarked $8.4 billion so far for a maintenance and shipbuilding precinct in a suburb called Henderson that is expected to include dry docks, which are needed for big repairs and the most extensive level of maintenance.
The Australian facilities "should be more than Guam since it will have a permanent maintenance facility ashore with a dry dock," said Bryan Clark, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and a former submariner. "In theory, the Navy could implement an overhaul work package in Australia and reduce the work needed when the sub returns home."
Because Australia doesn't allow foreign bases on its soil, officials publicly characterize the coming U.S. deployments as rotational -- but the preparations suggest U.S. submarines could be at Stirling for a while. Australian officials expect some 1,200 personnel to move to the area from the U.S. and the U.K., which also plans to operate a submarine from Stirling.
The plans are a challenge for a country with no experience operating its own nuclear-powered submarines. Getting the dry docks online by the time they are needed will also be an issue, some analysts say. Australian officials have signaled that a "contingency" dry-docking capability -- such as a floating dock that can handle big unexpected repairs, though not the most extensive level of maintenance -- will need to be ready by the early 2030s.
"If U.S. boats are to be in Australia in an enduring way, then the ability to conduct major emergency repairs is critical -- things that can only be done in a dry dock," said Brent Sadler, a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation who previously served on U.S. submarines.
The plans face other hurdles, including the expected need for $9 billion more to finish the maintenance and shipbuilding facility at Henderson. Attracting workers will likely be expensive in a region with a strong mining economy.
Some locals are worried about radioactive waste, and more military personnel could put pressure on the housing market. There are also concerns that having U.S. submarines nearby could make the area more of a target.
"This beautiful part of our coast here in southwestern Australia is going to become this massive U.S. Navy base," said Sophie McNeill,a state lawmaker in Western Australia from the left-wing Greens party which opposes the plans."The public is slowly waking up to what it will mean for our sleepy little part of the world."
The coming deployments to Stirling are part of the so-called Aukus deal between the U.S.,the U.K.and Australia.Under the pact,Australia is supposed to start acquiring its own Virginia-class submarines,which are nuclear powered,from the U.S.from the early 2030s.Australia's current fleet is diesel-electric.
U.S.shipbuilding,however,has been sluggish,and there remain doubts about whether the U.S.will be able to sell Australia the submarines.
"Is it in Australia's interest to have a U.S.submarine base in Stirling and have no submarines of our own?I don't think that is in our interest,"said Malcolm Turnbull,a former Australian prime minister from the center-right Liberal Party."I believe in Australian sovereignty,and I think the Aukus deal has been a colossal sacrifice of Australian sovereignty."
Proponents say having the U.S.subs at Stirling will create jobs and offer the benefits of nuclear-powered submarines—which have greater speed and endurance than other submarines—while Australia waits to get its own.
The U.S.submarines could help Australia—which is dependent on maritime trade—patrol important chokepoints to the north.Stirling would also be a good hub from which U.S.subs could blockade important shipping lanes,choking off Chinese trade if there is a conflict.
"Strategically and operationally it's a no-brainer,"said Mike Green,a former official in the George W.Bush administration who is now chief executive at the United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney.
Although China could still reach the base with missiles,hitting it would be harder because Stirling is farther away than U.S.bases elsewhere,he said."That bastion could really matter."