Biden flies to San Diego to sign nuclear submarine deal as bank stocks fall

President Joe Biden travels to San Diego on Monday to announce Australia’s purchase of nuclear submarines to modernize its fleet and help the US counter China’s growing influence in the Indo-Pacific.

Before boarding Air Force 1, the president made brief remarks hoping to reassure Americans that “US banking is safe” after the Silicon Valley bank collapsed on Friday.

Shortly after Biden’s departure, the New York Stock Exchange opened, and trading quickly halted for three banks: First Republic Bank, Western Alliance and PacWest after shares fell 75 percent.

Financial jitters continue to overshadow the international deal as Wall Street scrambles to determine what is triggering multiple US bank failures. Stocks fluctuated wildly on Monday as investors scramble to find a safe place to park their money.

President Joe Biden travels to San Diego, California to meet with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to announce a nuclear submarine deal.

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) during morning trading on March 13, 2023 in New York City. Shortly after Biden’s departure for California, US stocks fell Monday amid concerns about the banking system following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and others.

San Diego is Biden’s first stop on a three-day trip to California and Nevada. He will speak about gun violence prevention in Monterey Park, California and his plans to reduce prescription drug costs in Las Vegas.

The trip will include stops for fundraisers as Biden ramps up his political activity before he is expected next month to seek re-election in 2024.

After landing in San Diego, home of the US Pacific Fleet, Biden will meet with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak – two of America’s closest allies – as part of the 18-month nuclear partnership, which goes by the acronym AUKUS which is known stands for Australia, UK, USA.

Announced in 2021, the consortium paved the way for Australia’s access to nuclear-powered submarines, which are more stealthy and more capable than conventionally powered boats to counterbalance China’s military buildup.

Ahead of the trilateral meeting, Sunak announced he would increase British military funding by £5 billion ($6 billion) over the next two years in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and Chinese aggression.

The AUKUS partnership was announced in 2021, but Monday’s announcement will solidify the details. According to the Associated Press, Australia will buy up to five Virginia-class boats as part of the deal.

China opposes the deal, arguing it violates the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which prohibits the transfer of nuclear weapons material from a nuclear-weapon state to a non-nuclear-weapon state.

Australian officials counter that they are working to acquire nuclear-powered and non-nuclear-armed submarines.

Biden will also hold bilateral meetings with Albanese and Sunak in San Diego.

Australia will buy up to five Virginia-class submarines – above the Virginia-class USS North Dakota

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak (left) speaks with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at the Lionfish seafood restaurant in San Diego on Sunday

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak speaks to the British press who are traveling with him to San Diego

The logo of Silicon Valley Bank SVB is pictured at its German branch in Frankfurt, Germany, as concerns grow over possible international financial contagion

Signature Bank was taken over by state authorities in New York last Friday, March 12, 2023.

The three sides have been working on the deployment Australia with a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines in the face of restrictions on technology transfers and classified nuclear processes.

On the way to the USA, Sunak said China “presents us and the global order with an epochal challenge. It is a regime that is becoming increasingly authoritarian at home and assertive abroad, with a desire to reshape the world order.’

But, he added, “China cannot be ignored given the size of its economy.”

“It is right to engage with China on the issues where we can find common ground and make a difference, such as climate change, global health and macroeconomic stability,” he said.

“This is the right approach while we are very robust in defending our values ​​and our interests.”

The secretly brokered AUKUS deal involved the Australian government’s cancellation of a $66 billion contract for a French-built fleet of conventional submarines, sparking a diplomatic row within the western alliance that took months to resolve.

French President Emmanuel Macron withdrew his ambassador from Washington in September 2021 and later met with Biden in Italy during a G20 summit so the two could make amends.

Biden called Macron Tuesday, but a White House display of the call didn’t say whether the AUKUS deal went through.

The two leaders discussed growing Chinese influence in the South Pacific, an issue that also worries Australia.

Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk