Nuclear Submarine Holdup Is a Gift to China
Why is the Pentagon risking America’s best military relationship in the Pacific to review a deal Biden announced?
Australia’s looking to trade up from its Collins class diesel subs.
Source: Australian Defence Force via Getty Images
“AUKUS” might be the worst-sounding acronym in the long and undistinguished history of military acronyms: an awkward amalgam of Australia, the UK and the US. Yet it is vital to US national security and keeping China from dominating the Indo-Pacific. So why is the Donald Trump administration, which promised to make Asia the focus of its national security strategy, calling its future into question?
At its heart, AUKUS is a tripartite agreement to jointly procure, operate and construct the apex predators of the oceans: nuclear-powered attack submarines. It is a clear warning to China, which continually expands its aggressive military behavior at sea in the western Pacific. Just as important, AUKUS is a belated recognition that one of the most-overlooked US allies, Australia, is now a vital partner in great-power competition.