China accused him of “extreme irresponsibility.” France considered this a “hard blow” and a “Trump-style” decision. The European Union said it was “not informed” about the project and “will analyze its implications.”
But what is this alliance that is causing so much criticism? His name is AUKUS and he is made up of the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia, which celebrate this “historic” security partnership and the exchange of technology and information to protect their interests in the Indo-Pacific region.
While none of the countries said so directly, analysts say the great undeclared goal of this alliance is to stop China’s “expansionism”.
“We all recognize that it is imperative to ensure long-term peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region,” said US President Joe Biden at a White House press conference with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Australian Scott Morrison joining online. …
“We need to be able to deal with the region’s current environmental strategies and see how they can evolve, because the future of each of our countries – and the world – depends on a free and open zone in the Indo-Pacific that resists and thrives. for decades to come, ”the President said.
Discord submarines
One of the main reasons for criticism of this alliance is that it allows Australia to build nuclear submarines for the first time.
The Australian Prime Minister said the new partnership “will provide a safer and more secure region” that will benefit all participants and has assured that Australia is not seeking “to acquire nuclear weapons,” Morrison said.
With this agreement, Australia will become the seventh country in the world to operate nuclear submarines, along with the United States, Britain, France, China, India and Russia.
“This is changing the balance of power in the region. Should China face a military situation in the South China Sea or the Taiwan Strait, this new military partnership will affect the response that China has to prepare, ”the Stimson Center co-director of the East Asia Program told the BBC. in Washington, Yun Sun.
France was not satisfied. The new agreement led to the cancellation of a contract for the supply of French submarines to Australia, prompting French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Yves Le Drian to compare this decision with a “stab in the back.”
The French were negotiating the sale of submarines to Australia, the deal was valued at approximately $ 36.5 billion (about 31 billion euros). “We have established a relationship of trust with Australia and that trust has been betrayed,” Le Drian said. “I am very angry and upset. This is not what the allies are doing, ”added an advisor to Emmanuel Macron.
Obviously, discontent took this news from China. “Cooperation between the United States, Britain and Australia on nuclear submarines seriously undermines regional peace and stability, intensifies the arms race and undermines international nuclear non-proliferation efforts,” said Foreign Office spokesman Zhao Lijian.
