USSC Director of Foreign Policy and Defence Professor Peter Dean spoke to Sky News' Afternoon Agenda program about the aim of AUKUS and the safety concerns of Perth residents about housing the AUKUS nuclear submarines.
"I am incredibly confident that this will be a very safe, very secure nuclear capability in these submarines," said Professor Dean, speaking on the sidelines of the Indian Ocean Defence & Security 2024 conference in Perth.
He said the focus of AUKUS is on "deterrence."
"We're moving into an era where we've seen the conflict in Ukraine, we see problems in the South China Sea ...
"Readiness and preparedness for our military forces is critical."
