A security pact (but evidently against China) – Australia, the UK and the US have announced the creation of a new security alliance, which will help equip Canberra with nuclear submarines. The pact, called Aukus, will affect relations in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond. In announcing the pact, none of the leaders of the three countries mentioned China, but the alliance is widely seen as an anti-Chinese move.
Australia will have nuclear submarines thanks to the US – Under the agreement, Australia will build at least eight nuclear submarines using US technology, canceling a contract with France for diesel-electric powered submarines. According to experts, the future submarines will allow Australia to conduct longer patrols and give the alliance a greater military presence in the region. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he called the leaders of Japan and India to explain the pact. Japan, India, Australia and the US already have a strategic dialogue, Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, known as ‘the Quad’.
The US expands its presence in the Indo-Pacific area – Ten years ago, during the term of President Barack Obama, the US began to discuss the need to focus more attention on the Indo-Pacific region as it moved away from the conflicts in the Middle East. In the Biden presidency, the country withdrew troops from Afghanistan and saw tensions with Beijing grow. In the Pacific, the US and other nations are concerned about China’s aggressive actions in the South China Sea and tensions with Japan, Taiwan and Australia. Previously, the US has only shared nuclear propulsion technology with London. Biden said the long-term maintenance of peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific is at stake.
London leaves the EU and embraces American foreign policy – Leaving the European Union with Brexit meant that the UK needed to reassert its global position. The increased attention to the Indo-Pacific falls within this context. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the new alliance will allow the three nations to focus on an increasingly complex region of the world. He added that he will likely tie the three nations more than ever, speaking of a “strategic pillar”.
France calls Biden’s decision “brutal” – Australia has informed Paris of the termination of the contract with the state-majority DCNS naval group to build 12 of the largest conventional submarines in the world. The contracts are worth tens of billions of dollars. France reacted with anger, demanding explanations from all the actors involved: “It was a stab in the back. We built a relationship of trust with Australia, which was betrayed,” said the Foreign Minister, Jean- Yves Le Drian, speaking to France-Info. “This one-sided, brutal and unpredictable decision looks a lot like what Trump did”, a “stab in the back” against a NATO ally, continued Le Drian speaking of Biden. “We had warned before the announcement,” assured the White House, but Paris denies it. The outstretched hand of Joe Biden and Boris Johnson is useless, and also the justification of Australia, according to which it was a choice of necessity given that nuclear-powered submarines (but without atomic weapons) have greater autonomy and speed, therefore a range of action that is wider and less detectable by radar.
Strong irritation from Brussels, the EU is talking about a common army again – Brussels was also blown away by the new alliance, which will most likely be the subject of discussion at the next EU Foreign Council. “We regret not having been informed and not being included in these negotiations”, the initiative “reminds us to reflect on the priority of the EU’s strategic autonomy”, remarked EU High Representative Josep Borrell , which presented to the press the new European strategy on the Indo-Pacific, including the hypothesis of an “enhanced” deployment of naval forces in the region by the Member States of the European Union.
Beijing warns Australia: “Decide if we are partners or enemies” – According to Beijing, the AUKUS alliance will seriously damage regional peace and stability, jeopardizing efforts to stem the proliferation of nuclear weapons. For China it is “extremely irresponsible” that the US and the UK export nuclear technology and blames Australia for the crisis in bilateral relations. “The most urgent goal is for Australia to correctly admit the reasons for backsliding in relations” and “think carefully about whether to treat China as a partner or as a threat,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian. Tension with the US had already risen due to criticism of the violations of the human rights of the Uighur population of Xianjing, the repression of dissent in Hong Kong, and computer violations. Biden spoke on the phone last week with his counterpart, Xi Jinping. Later, the official Xinhua news agency reported that Xi expressed concern that Washington’s policies towards China have caused “serious difficulties” in relations.
–
