Editorial: Work begins on the detail of the important Aukus deal between Australia, Britain and America

​The important Aukus deal is now beginning to be fleshed out. ​The treaty was agreed between the US, UK and Australia in 2021 with little forewarning that it was coming.

The UK Defence Secretary John Healey, the Australian deputy prime minister Richard Marles and the US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin, met in Greenwich, east London yesterday – the first time defence ministers from the three Aukus nations had met together outside the US.

Now the UK and Australia are to begin discussions on the deal between the two countries as part of their own nuclear submarine programme. Under their project, known as SSN-Aukus, it is hoped that the nuclear powered fleet submarines would enter service in the late 2030s in the UK and early 2040s for the Australian Navy.

Amid major global threats, such as the Russian war in Ukraine, the Hamas-Iranian threat to Israel, and China’s menacing of Taiwan, this should be music to the ears of anyone who in the UK who is concerned about international affairs.

Like the Five Eyes (FVEY) intelligence alliance between Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK, and the US this is an example of wealthy English speaking nations that see the world in the fundamentally same way bringing their military expertise, the technological knowledge and their diplomatic weight together.

This has been a worrying time, amid confused signals from President Donald Trump and others towards some of those threats.

In much the same way that at the time of covid Northern Ireland was reminded of the great benefits of being in the UK with its NHS and fine scientific reputation, so the Aukus and Five Eyes agreements have been a reminder of the value of our place as an intrinsic part of a nation state that has such influence.