[SJackson]

In fairness to the State Dept, the deal was meant to be a secret until it's announcement. Essentially "need to know". Joe, as the public face of the administration had no more need to know than a press secretary. Probably less.

[Attention Surplus Disorder]

Pizza on submarines is raciss.

[Robert A Cook PE]

The “Australian - France submarine “contract” IS NOW a Communist Chinese war (in words and trade and social networking propaganda!) across the globe! It is NOT a US-Australia “deal” in anything but the fact that, once Australia cancelled its perpetually-failing, ever-longer-delayed, ever-more-expensive contract to build diesel electric (short-range) subs with France , the ONLY people who can deliver long range (nuclear) submarine enginerooms and reactors are the US and UK.

Yes. If Australia told the Biden State dept what they planned, China would immediately have used Biden-Hunter-Pelosi-Fienstein-etc-etc-etc to get the deal cancelled. Probably by invoking some invented “nuclear-proliferation” scheme by claiming the Aussies would develop nuclear bombs from the Navy reactor fuel.

Note carefully that long-range,long-duration subs like nuclear are the ONLY threat to Chinese occupation and naval blockade of the entire Asian coastline around from China through the Straits to India and Pakistan.