A United States submarine has surfaced in Darwin, just metres from a port that has been leased to a Chinese company.
The USS Minnesota has been in Australian waters for several weeks but its arrival in Darwin has raised plenty of eyebrows.
The nuclear-powered submarine was docked at the HMAS Stirling near Perth last month, giving Australian personnel an opportunity to get some first-hand experience on the vessel, which is the same type of submarine Australia will receive under the AUKUS deal.
But on Thursday morning it was escorted into Darwin Harbour.
Images captured by the NT News, show the submarine surfacing in Darwin Harbour, just metres from the East Arm Port, a facility that was leased to Chinese company Landbridge in 2015.
Another US navy vessel, the USS Emory, which provides logistical support for submarines, is also in Darwin Harbour.
The NT Government has issued a notice to mariners, warning the area will be closed to boats until April 3 due to a joint US Navy and Australian Defence Force operation.
But there has been no official comment about the operation.
The submarine’s arrival comes amid speculation the future of the Port of Darwin.
It’s 10 years since the Country Liberal Party leased the facility to Landbridge, a company owned by Chinese billionaire Ye Cheng, for 99 years.
Federal Labor MP Luke Gosling said last week there would be “more to say” soon about the possible return of the port to Australian hands.
“I’ll have more to say about the Darwin Port when there’s more to say and there will be more to say about that,” Mr Gosling said.
“The NT Government owns the port, they’ve leased it, stupidly to a foreign-owned business that has very close links to a foreign government that is not one of our traditional security partners.”
Shadow home affairs minister James Paterson said he agreed the port should return to Australian hands, but called on the Federal Government to follow up Mr Gosling’s words with action.
“Luke Gosling the Member for Solomon was out there several weeks ago saying the government was about to do this and we’ve heard crickets since,” he said.
“Anthony Albanese has previously said this was a problem, then he had a review that said it wasn’t a problem, now they’re going to act on it. In the national interest I think it should be returned to Australian ownership and I hope that happens very soon.”
