AUKUS Pact

 

In a virtual conference the president Joe Biden, PM Scott Morrison, and Boris Johnson have announced a trilateral partnership, known as AUKUS (Australia, United Kingdom, and the US). Multiple decisions have been made including the provision of 12 nuclear-powered submarines to Australia by the US and the UK; cooperation on cyber capabilities, artificial intelligence, quantum technologies; military assistance in the long-range strike for the air force and navy; and additional undersea capabilities. Australia would also acquire long-range US Tomahawk cruise missiles for hosting American bombers on its territory.

The distinct feature is that the battlefield in this war is not land but water. The UK and the US are helping Australia to acquire Nuclear-powered submarines. Only six countries operate nuclear-powered submarines _ China, France, India, Russia, the UK, and the US. The nuclear submarines can stay “on station” for 81 days compared with 28 days for typical conventional submarines. It will enable the US to have safer surveillance on regional security and the activities of China in the South China Sea.

 

The treaty is, in fact, an attempt by a waning superpower to curb the influence of China in the Indo-Pacific region. A country raged with racial differences, weakening democracy, exacerbating the burden of debt and humiliating defeats is on the edge of chaos. China’s growing economic and technological progress is posing threats to American hegemony in the world. Having been defeated in South Asia, now it is trying to renew and strengthen its alliance in East Asia.

 

China has troubling relations with almost every country banking the South China Sea which has rich resources of oil and gases along with opportunities for fishing. It is also a great resource of $3 trillion shipments. It has hiking tensions in claiming the South China Sea against the claims made by Taiwan, Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei, Philippines. It is trying to conquer the islands. It has built artificial islands and tightened its military presence to check the US’ sending warships to the sea. The US tries its best to foster anti-China policies in the region. The AUKUS Pact is a similar attempt as China has in recent years hit Australia with trade sanctions and snubbed diplomatic talks.

It is not the first time that America has allied to fulfill his with hegemonic interests. Many such attempts have already been in the past in the form of Five Eye, an intelligence-sharing alliance consisting of the US, UK, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand, Blue Dot, The American counterpart for BRI (Belt Road Initiative) to upgrade international infrastructure, Quad, a strategic dialogue between the United States, India, Japan and Australia, B3W, an initiative undertaken by G7 countries to provide an alternative to the Belt and Road initiative for the infrastructure development of the low and middle-income countries, and Tans-Pacific partnership, an agreement signed among 12 countries that border the Pacific Ocean which aimed at deepening economic ties between these nations against the rising Chinese threat.

 

The pact is a ‘strategic shift’ from the region of South Asia to East Asia. So far America has invested much of its power and wealth to draw its benefits from the former region. But now it has shifted its focus to the latter region in consequence of a humiliating defeat there. However, it is not hard to estimate the extent of failure that America is going through from the failure of its earlier projects. America could no more bear the burden of “foreign aid” that he is providing to check China’s growing threat. On the other hand, China’s policies promise peace to a greater extent. Its mega infrastructure project, Belt Road Initiative, will see better days only if it could prevent wars in the regions.  America could rehabilitate its vigour only if it abandons its war policies and follow peace in form and spirit.

-Muhammad Abrar

Oct 12, 2021