Leaders of the United States, Britain and Australia meet in San Diego on Monday with an expected announcement on nuclear submarines, a historic step in military cooperation as concerns grow over a rapidly rising China.
US President Joe Biden, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will gather at the California Naval Center to develop the new three-way security agreement AUKUS, to be unveiled by the nations in September 2021.
The key element of AUKUS was a US agreement to export to Australia its prized technology of nuclear-powered submarines, previously shared only with Britain when it designed its undersea fleet in the 1960s.
Ahead of an expected announcement for British-built submarines with American parts, China warned that AUKUS risked starting an arms race and accused the three countries of setting back nuclear non-proliferation efforts.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told reporters, “We call on the US, Britain and Australia to abandon the Cold War mentality and zero-sum game, honor international obligations in good faith, and do things conducive to regional peace and stability.” urges to do.” in Beijing.
Australia has made it clear that it will not pursue nuclear weapons, unlike its two allies.
But nuclear-powered submarines will allow Australia to maintain an underwater presence for months over the coming decades, as China’s military expands its reach.
China has reached a controversial security deal with the Solomon Islands in recent months and has not ruled out the use of force to take Taiwan, a self-governing democracy that Beijing claims is effectively the military power in the Pacific. prevents it from being introduced.
Britain’s The Times newspaper reported that under the AUKUS agreement, Australia is expected to acquire British-built submarines rather than the United States, as Britain’s smaller ships are easier to operate.
– ‘boils down to China’ –
Charles Edell, president of Australia at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, said that through AUKUS the United States was arming its two closest allies and trying to convince China that “it is now a permissive security environment is not working.”
“Every country has a slightly different rationale for AUKUS, but it largely boils down to China,” he said.
China was not mentioned when AUKUS was first announced, although Beijing’s exponential growth of military power and its more aggressive views over the past decade were the clear driving force behind it,” he said.
Adele said that for Australia, AUKUS represents a major shift in strategy as distrust of China grows, while for Britain, the partnership provides a new outlet for influence following its departure from the EU.
AUKUS angered France as Australia abruptly canceled a $66 billion deal to buy French conventional submarines.
Prior to his visit to San Diego, Sunak went to Paris to discuss joint operations in the Pacific between the British and French navies.
Sunak said an updated British security review due on Monday was in line with France’s own Indo-Pacific strategy released last year.
Asia-Pacific is “an increasingly important part of the global economy, it is home to half the world’s population, 40 percent of global GDP, and it is about to grow significantly,” Sunak told reporters.
“It is understandable that both the French and we are keen to be more active partners in this area.”
France recalled its ambassadors from Washington and Canberra in anger over Australia’s cancellation of a 2016 submarine deal, although relations with the United States have normalised.
A French official speaking on condition of anonymity said that the San Diego summit was “of no use to us”, but that the three countries had consulted on what they were doing.
“We think it was a mistake,” he said. “In relation to Australia, it was treason.”
While initially seen as a gift to US industry, AUKUS has also raised some concern in Washington over pressure on the defense industry, which is also racing to arm Ukraine.
Biden proposed a major increase in submarine production capacity in a budget proposal this week.
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)