CANBERRA, June 2 (Xinhua) -- An independent inquiry was launched on Tuesday into the AUKUS defense pact in Australia by a group of Labor veterans and public figures.
"The AUKUS deal was conceived in secret and with deception -- and continues to be shrouded in secrecy despite the incredibly high stakes and massive cost," said the website of the AUKUS public inquiry. AUKUS refers to the trilateral security partnership between Australia, Britain and the U.S.
This came after a change to the deal's delivery plan that Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles announced on Saturday after meeting with his U.S. counterpart in Singapore. According to that, Australia will buy all three second-hand U.S. submarines, instead of getting at least one brand new submarine as originally planned.
A spokesperson for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the government welcomed "appropriate oversight and transparency."
The inquiry is expected to hold public hearings with a report due in October.
The review will look into various issues, such as whether AUKUS will jeopardize Australian sovereignty, whether it will make Australians safer, whether the country will receive the submarines, how the nuclear waste will be stored, etc.
The AUKUS deal is estimated to cost the government at most 368 billion Australian dollars (about 264 billion U.S. dollars). ■
