U.K. Minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan says Australian submarines will assure neighbours

“The Pacific is a big place. Having nuclear-powered submarines means you can go further for longer, it's a practical question,” Ms. Trevelyan said.

“Australia’s shift to nuclear-powered submarines will assure its South Pacific neighbours of its commitment to regional security,” Britain’s Minister of State for the Indo-Pacific said on November 28.

Australia will announce, in March, what type of submarine, powered with U.S. nuclear technology, it wants to build under a deal with the United States and Britain revealed in September last year.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan said she expects the three nations to work closely together to deliver a fleet of eight submarines.

“It's going to be a really exciting project and really importantly will assure, I think, not only for Australia, but for the Indo-Pacific region, for those Pacific islands that assurance that Australia's commitment to their security is unassailable,” Ms. Trevelyan told the National Press Club.

The previous Australian government infuriated French President Emmanuel Macron by cancelling a contract for a French-built fleet of 12 conventionally-powered submarines worth 90 billion Australian dollars ($66 billion). It opted instead for nuclear-powered versions.

This month, Mr. Macron described Australia going nuclear as a “confrontation with China.” Ms. Trevelyan said she disagreed with Mr. Macron's stance that Australia should have stayed with the French contract.