Charting the Course: Australia’s Nuclear Submarines and the International Nuclear Safeguards and Non-Proliferation Regime
Charting the Course: Australia’s Nuclear Submarines and the International Nuclear Safeguards and Non-Proliferation Regime
Key points
- Australia’s nuclear submarine acquisition under the AUKUS partnership is lawful and represents an opportunity to establish new norms in international nuclear governance, particularly in managing naval nuclear fuel under the non-proliferation regime.
- The AUKUS initiative does not exploit a loophole in the international safeguards system but rather adheres to its established rules, with nuclear naval propulsion being a permissible, though largely unregulated, area of nuclear activity.
- Australia’s commitment to nuclear non-proliferation remains strong, with the country engaging transparently with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and ensuring that its nuclear activities, even for naval propulsion, will remain under appropriate safeguards.
- Nuclear stewardship is central to Australia’s approach, with significant investments in regulatory frameworks, nuclear knowledge, and best practices for the safe and responsible operation of nuclear-powered submarines.
- Australia’s acquisition of SSNs is setting a normative precedent as the first instance of a non-nuclear-weapon state using provisions under the safeguards regime to manage nuclear materials for non-explosive military purposes.
Amber Darwish is a current Fellow of the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP) and a Lifetime Fellow of the Sylff Association. Leveraging extensive experience as an international consultant and UN arms expert, she advises on security policies and multilateral frameworks, particularly in arms control and disarmament. Amber holds an LLM and an Executive LLM and is currently pursuing her PhD at the Geneva Graduate Institute, specialising in global governance and multilateral norm development.
Disclamer: The views, information and opinions expressed in this publication are the authors’ own and do not necessarily reflect those of the GCSP or the members of its Foundation Council. The GCSP is not responsible for the accuracy of the information.