A new trilateral security partnership has been formed between the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia to counter China. The key feature is that Australia will receive assistance in building a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines. This is a major blow to Chinese power in the region.
This was announced in an virtual event attended by the US President Joe Biden, the British PM Boris Johnson, and his Australian counterpart, Scott Morrison. This renewed message has sent a strong message to China.
Though Biden didn’t take China’s name directly, he mentioned that the initiative, including the submarine plan, was important to ensure the three nations have the state-of-the-art technology to defend against “rapidly evolving threats”. Clearly, this statement was aimed at China, given the recent disagreements between the US and China on issues such as the South China Sea, Taiwan etc.
He added that the nations have stood together for more than 100 years, and this new step is being undertaken to ensure peace and stability in the Indo Pacific.
While Australia would get access to nuclear propulsion technology, it will not develop nuclear weapons. Up till now, this tech has been shared by the US with the UK. These submarines would not be armed with nuclear weapons.
This move would make the Australian Naval capabilities faster and more stealthy, bringing it one step closer to China’s capabilities. More importantly, these submarines can operate in the South China Sea without the need to surface frequently. Clearly, China has been put to a disadvantage.
Australian PM Scott Morrison took a shot at China by saying that the allies had to elevate their partnership to a new level because of the increasingly complex environment in Asia.
The Chinese embassy in Washington vented its frustration at the move, saying the three countries should not build exclusionary blocs targeting the interests of third parties. Parroting its propaganda book, it accused the three powers of being stuck in a “Cold War” mentality.
The nations also agreed to boost cooperation in cybersecurity, Quantum Computing and AI. This is to ensure China doesn’t establish a dominance in these areas. This new partnership has been formed just a week before Biden is due to host the leaders of the QUAD. The QUAD security grouping is also designed to counter China and has been described by it as an “Asian NATO”.
Hence, this deal is sure to send a strong signal to China. It’s a reminder to it that Australia has tech capabilities and alliance relationships that they could become a nuclear power if the threat posed by China becomes severe. After the Afghanistan disaster, this seems to be a great decision coming from the Biden administration.
China should learn its lesson quickly. It is not China vs the US. It is China vs the world.
- Pushkar Sinha is a foreign affairs analyst
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