Richard Marles says America, not Australia, will decide how long their AUKUS subs will remain at HMAS Stirling

Defence Minister Richard Marles says the United States, not Australia, will decide how long its nuclear-powered submarines will remain at Perth’s HMAS Stirling naval base based on American “operational requirements”.

US military officials last week sought urgent clarification from Australia about the Submarine Rotational Force-West (SRF-West) program after Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy suggested it would be limited to five years.

Under the AUKUS Optimal Pathway, US and British submarines will first deploy to WA’s HMAS Stirling from next year, before Australia begins to receive second-hand Virginia-class boats in the early 2030s.

During a visit to Darwin on Friday, Mr Marles insisted the “rotational” arrangement for up to four US submarines under SRF-West did not represent an American base, but he also left open the prospect that each boat could be based in Perth for years.

“The Submarine Rotational Force-West and the duration of those rotations is going to be a function of the operational requirements of the US submarines, and that is going to vary from, you know, potentially from submarine to submarine,” he told reporters.

“It is a rotation presence at HMAS Stirling, but those rotations are a function of the operations which will be undertaken by the submarines”.

The Minister’s comments immediately sparked concern from AUKUS critics inside the Labor Party who privately claimed the statement amounted to a “surrender of Australia’s sovereignty”.

Mr Marles also clarified the expected size of the US military deployment to Western Australia as part of SRF-West, insisting the number of uniformed American personnel would be 1200, not 2300 as a recent media report suggested.

“It’s 1200 personnel. There are civilians, contractors, families, which make up the larger number, but it’s 1200 personnel,” he said standing alongside his Philippines counterpart Gilberto Teodoro.

Shadow defence minister James Paterson claimed there was growing uneasiness inside the Albanese government over the impending arrival of US personnel in Australia for AUKUS submarine rotations.

“It’s just true that some on the left flank of the Labor Party are uncomfortable with AUKUS, uncomfortable with nuclear submarines, and they’re particularly sensitive for historical reasons about US presence on Australian soil,” Senator Paterson said.

“We know Josh Wilson, for example, the Assistant Minister, whose electorate is just to the north of HMAS Stirling, is publicly opposed to AUKUS even though he’s a member of the ministry,” he told News24.

“So, I think Pat Conroy and Richard Marles and other government ministers have had to manage that sensitivity on their left flank, and they sometimes get themselves into rhetorical holes as Pat did last week.”

Greens Senator David Shoebridge said: “It’s pretty tragic when Australia’s Defence Minister says that the US, not Australia, will decide which of their nuclear submarines will come here and how long they will stay.

“This is one of those accidental truth moments from Minister Marles when he forgets to pretend that Australia is meant to have a say in our defence relationship with the US.”

A new US military hub began operations at HMAS Stirling naval base earlier this year ahead of the arrival of hundreds of American personnel for the start of AUKUS submarine rotations in 2027.

The Naval Support Activity (NSA) Stirling was quietly established by the US Navy in late June to provide: “essential services to US personnel and their families”.

Earlier on Friday following a meeting with the visiting Secretary of the Philippines National Defence Department, Mr Marles declared both countries had made “really good progress” on a military cooperation agreement, which could be signed next year.

“We do think that this is an arrangement which will help transform the relationship between our two countries which will speak to our commitment to each other, but which will also speak to the very significant defence cooperation that we have,” he said in Darwin.

The two ministers also reaffirmed their joint commitment to an international legal ruling on the South China Sea made under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) a decade ago.

“We are both countries which are very committed to the global rules-based order, to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and to the way in which that is applied,” Mr Marles said.