Among other things, Australia should be able to build its own nuclear-powered submarines. The pact is likely to aim to counter China’s influence in the region.
The USA, Great Britain and Australia launched a new security partnership with the acronym AUKUS on Wednesday. The aim is to secure peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region, said Biden. As a component of the new partnership, the United States and Great Britain will enable Australia to build their own nuclear-powered submarines.
US President Joe Biden warned of a “rapidly evolving threat” in the Indo-Pacific region in a video conference with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison. The initiative is a “historic step” for the partners USA, Great Britain and Australia.
Biden said, “We’re not talking about nuclear-armed submarines. These are conventional nuclear-powered submarines.” Morrison said, “We will continue to meet all of our nuclear non-proliferation commitments.”
As a key requirement for the initiative, Biden said: “We have to be able to deal with both the current strategic environment in the region and its possible developments.” An open and free Indo-Pacific region is crucial for the future and must endure.
China condemns the pact
Australian Prime Minister Morrison said: “In order to meet these challenges and to ensure the security and stability that our region needs, we must take our partnership to a new level.”
The US government and Australia are concerned about China’s increasing claim to power in the Indo-Pacific region. However, Biden, Morrison and Johnson did not mention China by name. China’s embassy in Washington condemned the security pact nonetheless. Countries should “not form an exclusive bloc that targets or harms the interests of third parties. In particular, they should abandon their Cold War mentality and ideological prejudices,” said embassy spokesman Liu Pengyu.
According to the US, the partnership also provides for cooperation in the fields of artificial intelligence, quantum technology and cyber topics. “The aim is to work hand in hand to maintain security and stability in the Indo-Pacific,” said British Prime Minister Johnson.