Australia will buy American-made nuclear submarines, The Peninsula reported March 9, citing a European official familiar with the situation.

An agreement to purchase the Virginia-class submarines will be announced on Monday when President Joe Biden, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak meet in San Diego to negotiate an AUKUS partnership.

Submarines, each costing $3 billion, are being built at shipyards in Virginia and Connecticut. Under the terms of the agreement, the submarines will also eventually be built in the UK and Australia with US technology and support, a person familiar with the matter said. The original plans called for all submarines to be built in Adelaide, Australia.

The US is also stepping up its port visits in Australia to familiarize the country with nuclear technology.

While relations between the US and France have recovered over the submarine deal, the French continue to express concerns that the deal could potentially be used by China as an excuse to expand the NPT and transfer sensitive technology, a European official said. opponents of the West. The official added that France has urged the three members of the AUKUS alliance to keep the issue in mind as they move forward.

Recall that China has repeatedly said that the transfer of nuclear technology to non-nuclear powers violates the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.