Joe Hockey believes Australia's acquisition of eight nuclear-powered submarines under AUKUS sends a message the country will 'do whatever it takes' in order to defend itself.
The details of the subs deal, which has been described as the most significant defence procurement in Australia's history, werePrime Minister Anthony Albanese stood alongside United States President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at a port in San Diego, California, to make the highly-anticipated announcement.
"It means that anyone that wants to mess with Australia is going to get a bloody nose," Mr Hockey said on AM Agenda. “They’ve tried to intimidate us, they’ve stopped importing our goods, they’ve stopped travel, they’ve tried to do everything they can to intimidate us." Australia will also buy three Virginia class submarines from the United States in the meantime to plug capability gap fears with the Collins class subs to retire in 15 years.
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