Former prime minister Tony Abbott has urged the Turnbull Government to consider purchasing US nuclear submarines to maintain a military edge in the Pacific.
Speaking to a Sydney thinktank, the Centre for Independent Studies, Mr Abbott cast doubt on the strength of the 12 submarines that will be constructed in Australia under a contract with French manufacturer DCNS.
Mr Abbott said the Shortfin Barracuda may not be available until the 2030s and would have "less power, less speed, less capability" than the nuclear French submarine on which it is based.
He said a reluctance to embrace nuclear submarine technology was one of the "biggest regrets" of his prime ministership, but said "if something's worth doing, it's worth doing late".
"I worry that a decade or so hence - maybe sooner - Australia might face a security crisis in our region and find that governments of yesterday, and today, had left their successors with inadequate means to deal with it," Mr Abbott said.
He said the challenges of the Pacific and the tension in the South China Sea required powerful, long-range submarines, and listed some of the countries in the region that were bolstering their fleets, including China, Indonesia and India.
The former PM said the French design process should continue, but made the case for a nuclear Plan B that could be developed in parallel.
