AUKUS (Australia, UK, & US) Trilateral Security Partnership to counter china in Indo-Pacific

The United States, Britain and Australia said on 15/Sept/2021 they would establish a security partnership for the Indo-Pacific that will involve helping Canberra acquire nuclear-powered submarines, as Chinese influence over the region grows.

The US, the UK and Australia have announced they are setting up a trilateral security partnership aimed at confronting China, which will include helping Australia to build nuclear-powered submarines. US President Joe Biden, UK prime minister Boris Johnson and Australian prime minister Scott Morrison announced the deal together virtually.

Biden, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison appeared together virtually to detail the new alliance, which will be called AUKUS (pronounced AWK-us). The three announced they would quickly turn their attention to developing nuclear-powered submarines for Australia.

The agreement is reported to cover key areas such as artificial intelligence, cyber warfare, underwater systems, and long range strike capabilities.

It is also reported to include a nuclear component, possibly limited to United States and United Kingdom, on Nuclear Defense Infrastructure.

Unveiling the ambitious security initiative, US President Joe Biden, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison in a joint statement said their move will promote stability in the Indo-Pacific and support of their shared values and interests.

Under the first major initiative of AUKUS, Australia would build a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines with the help of the US and the UK, a capability aimed at promoting stability in the Indo-Pacific region.

In Beijing, the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Thursday sharply criticized the trilateral military partnership, saying it would closely monitor the pact that will gravely undermine regional stability and aggravate the arms race and hurt international non-proliferation efforts.

The new security Alliance is likely to be seen as a provocative move by China, which has repeatedly lashed out at Biden as he sought to focus US foreign policy on the pacific in the early going of his presidency.

Washington and its allies are looking for ways to push back against China's growing power and influence, particularly its Military buildup, pressure on Taiwan and deployments in the contested south china Sea.

Morrison said the preparation for the deal would take 18 months. Given the lack of local capability, Australia would need to "leverage expertise" from US and UK "building on the two countries' submarine programs to build an Australian capability into service at the earliest achievable date".

Scott Morrison said Australia was committed to "adhering to the highest standards for safeguards, transparency, verification and accountable measures to ensure the non-proliferation, safety and security of Nuclear Material and Technology.

For Nuclear Submarines, US will supply highly enriched uranium to Australia to power the Submarines; Australia has reportedly agreed not to produce highly enriched uranium itself. 

The new alliance, which will fast-track nuclear submarine development for Australia, nullifies the Australia's pre-existing deal with France for Nuclear Submarines.

The submarine contract was worth $36.5 billion.

France, in a strongly worded statement, said the new deal was "contrary to the letter and spirit of the cooperation that prevailed between France and Australia.

When asked for his reaction to the trilateral defence pact, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said: "The US, the UK and Australia are engaging in a cooperation in nuclear powered submarines that gravely undermines regional peace and stability, aggravate arms race and hurts the international non-proliferation efforts".

"The US and UK are about to export highly-sensitive nuclear powered submarine technology to Australia. This once again shows that they are using nuclear exports for geopolitical gaming tools and applying double standards which is extremely irresponsible.

"China will closely monitor the situation. China always believes that any regional mechanism must go with the trend of the times for peace and development and should be conducive to mutual trust and cooperation between the regional countries. They should not target any third party or harm third party's interests.

The next concern obviously is for countries like India, who are part of the Quad rouping often referred to as Asia's NATO.

Experts say, there are no reasons for India to be worried, as the new grouping pulls UK- another major global power into the Indo-Pacific Cold war.

The AUKUS would compliment QUAD, and after the deal with Australia nullified, this will further push France closer to India as India is one of the biggest customer of Defense equipment made by France.