Anyone here subscribed to The Australian? I wanna know if the source is from Japan or just another smoke screen(s) from SA................
Japanese ‘ready’ to build subs here
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Japanese ‘ready and able’ to build subs here: Nick Xenophon
The Australian
July 11, 2015
12:00AM
Brendan Nicholson
Defence Editor
Canberra
High-level Japanese government, military and industry officials have given strong assurances that they are willing and able to build the navy’s new submarines in Aust*ralia.
Independent South Australian senator Nick Xenophon told
The Weekend Australian he was given the assurances during meetings which included detailed briefings by Japan’s two submarine builders, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Kawasaki Shipbuilding Corporation.
The two companies alternate in producing a new submarine each year for the Japanese navy in a “continuous build” process.
Senator Xenophon travelled to Japan at his own cost for talks with the officials.
The Japanese bid has so far been cloaked in secrecy.
That has added strength to speculation that Japan would insist* on the submarines being built in Japan.
The government has insisted that it will not make decisions on who will build the submarines or where they will be built until it sees the results of a “competitive evalua*tion process”.
That process is now under way and involves Japan, France and Germany.
It calls on the nations involved to provide three options — to build overseas, build in Australia or a hybrid*, where work would be done in both countries.
That has not stopped the government’s critics saying repeatedly that it intended opting for an overseas build.
Senator Xenophon said that in light of the soaring unemployment numbers in South Australia, Tony Abbott needed to end the confidence-sapping impression he had allowed to be created that the new submarines were likely to be built overseas.
“The Prime Minister needs to put an end to this nonsense,” he said.
Senator Xenophon said he had told his Japanese hosts that Japan would find itself in the middle of a political dogfight if the decision was made to build the submarines in Japan.
“They were all incredibly helpful,” he said. “They genuinely want to do the right thing.”
The Australian revealed this week that one of a number of option*s being considered was that Japan might work with a Swedish company on its bid to sell Australia a new submarine evolved from its successful Soryu-class boat.
That could be suggested as part of the evaluation process and could increase the chances of the submarines being built in Aust*ralia.
If the government breaks its promise to build them here, the Coalition fears that it could lose most of its seats in South Australia.
While buying a Japanese submarine is an option said to be favoured by the Prime Minister, there are concerns that because of its pacifist constitution Japan has no experience selling defence equipment to another country, and that language and cultural issues might further complicate an already complex project.
Sweden was excluded from the government’s “competitive evaluation process” before it began but it has a close working relationship with Japan.
The Swedish company SAAB provides equipment, including the air independent propulsion system, for Japan’s Soryu-class submarines
SAAB has 350 specialist staff in Australia.
A year ago, it bought the Swedish company Kockums, which built Australia’s six Collins-class submarines.