Former Australian PM on submarine deal with US: ‘It must be the worst deal in all history’

Former Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating said on Wednesday that his country’s recently announced agreement to obtain three nuclear-powered submarines from the U.S. “must be the worst deal in all history.”

Keating lamented that the agreement, which is aimed at bolstering Australia’s defense capabilities amid rising tensions with China, would not serve any useful purpose.

“The only way the Chinese could threaten Australia or attack it is on land. That is, they bring an armada of troop ships with a massive army to occupy us,” Keating said at a National Press Club event, according to The Associated Press. “This is not possible for the Chinese to do.”

He called the agreement, expected to cost Canberra between 268 billion and 368 billion Australian dollars, or $178 billion and $245 billion, the worst international decision by the Australian Labor Party in more than 100 years. Keating led the party in the early 1990s.

“The idea that we need American submarines to protect us,” he said, adding, “Three are going to protect us from the might of China. Really? I mean, the rubbish of it. The rubbish.”