A US nuclear submarine has arrived in Australia during a routine patrol of the region as America works to reaffirm its commitment to the Pacific.

The Virginia-class submarine docked at the HMAS Stirling port in Perth on Friday.

The commanding officer of the submarine will be greeted by Australian Vice Admiral Jonathan Mead, US Rear Admiral Chris Cavanaugh and Western Australian Defence Minister Paul Papalia.

Australia will buy at least three Virginia-class submarines from Washington starting in the early 2030s under the trilateral AUKUS agreement.

The US is increasing port visits of its submarines from this year and American and British submarines will rotate through Australia from 2027.

China has been critical of Canberra’s plan to acquire nuclear submarines, most recently with Beijing’s mouthpiece Global Times accusing Australia of becoming a US military base and a “bridgehead” to attack China.

Quantity vs. quality

Australian Rear Admiral Brett Sonter, who is serving with the US Pacific Fleet, said China was conducting a rapid military build up “in terms of their complete arsenal” as AUKUS nations work to counter Beijing’s increasing assertiveness in the Pacific.

The rear admiral said he was confident the allies’ submarine and anti-submarine technology were “generations ahead”, but noted “quantity has a quality of its own” when it came to China’s build up.

“It really is a probably a critical strength of ours so I’m not worried about it,” he said.

“They’re getting more proficient in all domains of warfare but I’m very confident.”

He said Australia was on the pathway to being able to operate its own nuclear-powered submarines with personnel graduating nuclear schools in the US.

“We’re on a good pathway and I do stress they are a sovereign capability.”

-AAP