Australia is already deeply enmeshed within the US defence establishment and its security planning is increasingly reliant on stability in Washington
have publicly raised concerns about whether the submarines will be a sovereign capability, operable without the assistance of the US. And it appears that the submarines will rely on US personnel, at least initially. But Australian officials have sought to reassure the public on this point, emphasising that they will be fully under the command of Australia. The evolving threat environment is compelling these states to work together in increasingly sophisticated ways.
Aukus reflects Australia’s abandonment of its traditional “pragmatic” approach to managing great power relations defined by not having to “choose” between the US or China. Its choice is obvious, and it is relying on the US committing to the “integrated deterrence” approach that the Biden administration set out in itsAukus further pushes Australia along a path that it was already on in terms of trying to anchor the US’s presence and leadership in the region as a way of securing its own interests.
Many of Australia’s procurements are either US-built or compatible with US systems. The decision to pursue nuclear-powered submarines in partnership with the US and UK should not be viewed in isolation, but rather in the context of a long series decisions about where Australia’s security interests lie. Aukus reflects the enduring traditions in Australian national security: the search for security through relations with “great and powerful friends” – the UK and US – is hard-wired.
We should not be surprised if there is pushback in the US about relinquishing submarines during a time of increased contestation to a sovereign state that will be making sovereign decisions, we are assured, about what to do with those capabilities.
Malaysia Latest News, Malaysia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
AUKUS: Raise bank levy to foot AUKUS billOPINION: Making banks hand back to taxpayers some of the profits from the special treatment Canberra gives them would be the user-pays principle in action.
Read more »
Aukus will bolster stability in the Asia-Pacific, not undermine it | John BlaxlandThere are risks – but the trilateral security pact is likely to provide greater US resolve to stay engaged in Australia’s neighbourhood
Read more »
Government won’t announce dollar figure for AUKUS submarinesSky News Australia can reveal that the Albanese government will not be announcing a dollar figure for the 30-year AUKUS nuclear submarines deal. The submarines will cost over 0.1 per cent of Australia’s GDP every year for 30 years. “It is going to be in the hundreds of billions of dollars, over $200 billion, but they are not going to specify a number in terms of the overall cost,” Sky News Chief News Achor Kieren Gilbert said. “It will be characterised as a percentage of GDP and somewhere over 0.1 per cent.” The short term costs will be detailed by Treasurer Jim Chalmers in the forward estimates, along with a price range for the medium term over 10 years.
Read more »
Navy starts recruitment drive to service AUKUS submarines dealAustralia will need 20,000 more workers to build a new submarine fleet and transform the nation’s defence over the next three decades under forecasts to be revealed within days as part of the AUKUS pact with the United States and the United Kingdom.
Read more »
Aukus: 10 things we need to know about Australia’s nuclear submarine programFrom cost to expertise, many questions are yet to be answered amid the fanfare of the plan’s announcement
Read more »