The United States of America, Australia and the United Kingdom have announced a historic security partnership to defend their interests in the Indo-Pacific against China’s wishes.
The partnership will allow Australia, in particular, to acquire nuclear submarines, which could jeopardize a large order of over 60 billion Australian dollars (about 37.3 billion euros) from France.
The new pact, dubbed AUKUS, will allow the three countries to “exchange advanced technology, especially nuclear power technology in submarines,” according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
This Thursday, the US President issued a statement on the “national security” initiative, accompanied by Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. The US president has already proposed renewing alliances between the US and China, repeatedly stating that the Indo-Pacific is a priority.
After the pact is confirmed, relations with France may cool if this leads to the cancellation of Australia’s order. A 2016 framework agreement that French President Emmanuel Macron has pledged to implement, calls for the construction of 12 conventional submarines.
The total cost of the program, for which the French naval group was responsible, is A $ 50 billion (about € 31 billion).
The contract has been criticized for months by the Australian Labor Party, which denounced its value.
