UK minister says Australian submarines will assure neighbors

By ROD McGUIRK
Associated Press

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Britain’s top envoy for the Indo-Pacific says Australia’s shift to nuclear-powered submarines will assure its South Pacific neighbors of the UK’s commitment to regional security. Anne-Marie Trevelyan, the minister of state for the Indo-Pacific, told Australia’s National Press Club the submarines would provide to its Pacific island neighbors an “assurance that Australia’s commitment to their security is unassailable.”   Australia will announce in March what type of submarine powered with U.S. nuclear technology it wants to build under a deal with the United States and Britain. Trevelyan said she expects the three nations to work together to deliver a fleet of eight submarines.