AUKUS AGREEMENT

 

AUKUS: It is Acrnoym for Australia, UK, and USA

Date: 15th September 2021.

Participants: Australia, UK, and USA.

The Agreement's Objectives: 

The aim of the agreement, among other things, is to provide Australian navy with  Eight (8) nuclear-powered submarines over the next few decades. This trilateral agreement, presented by President Joe Biden (46th president of USA) as responding to the "Imperatives of ensuring peace and stability in Indo-Pacific Region over the long term", serves the unstated and obvious purpose of counterblancing an increasingly powerful, sometimes aggressive, china in its neighborhood and on international forum. Among other things it also signifies above all military industrial cooperation between Australia, USA and UK rather than a true diplomatic revolution with regard to china.

A) AUKUS agreement: scope

Aukus Agreement is mainly a linguistic conveniemce becuase AUKUS is not a new Alliance in the region. AUKUS does not invlove a collective defense commitment. For example, under Article 5 of NATO. The partnership between Australia, UK, and USA doesn't fundamentally alter the current geopolitical configurations. Because the USA and Australia are already bound by collective defence clause in triparitw agreement with Newzland (ANZUS). While, Washington and London are obviously allies with NATO. In addition to that AUKUS members already work closely together under a no. of agreements. The best known of which is in undoubtedly so called "Five Eyes" agreement  ( which includes canada and Newzland) concerning the signal intelligence.

B) Counterblancing china's influence in Indo-Pacific Region? 

Recent time has seen bitter rift between the relationship of two major powers of the world- The US and China. The protracted cleavage in relations has witnessed harsh policies from the both sides in order to sustain one another's influence regionally as well as internationally. The Recent Trilateral agreement, namely AUKUS Agreement, between US, UK, and Australia is a  part of same contain-china policy  of USA after QUAD, and FIVE eyes agreements. The AUKUS agreement, along with provision of nuclear powered submarines to Australia, also includes collaboration on cyber capability, Artificial Intelligence, Quantum technology, and additional undersea capabilities. Morever, Australia and USA have announced that they will increase their joint military exercises and Washington may be given greater access to Australian infrastructure to facilitate its military operations in the region. If the agreement comes to fruitation, then, strategical the Nuclear-powered submarines would represent a critical deterrence against china in a high intensity naval conflict in the indo pacific.

C) Accepting US's offer, & infuriating the France!  

One must be favily understanding the Australian choice  it is because it considers the threat posed by China is much greater than it was before. The Visage to this conjecture is based on the reassessment of threat follows a series of diplomatic confortation between Canberra  and Beijing over the past few years,  such as the Chinese economic retaliation imposed on Australia after it called for international investigation into origin of Covid-19 pandemic. The growing tensions has led Australia to choose stronger ally that can help it economically and on security imperatives. Australia then look forward to the USA over France. While the agreement diluted the Australian Autonomy in the region and on global platforms but the growing tensions seem to led Australia to stake its autonomy over the stability insurance. 

D). french state, repleted with rage

The reason for French disappointment is crystal clear. This pact, in a direct way to , means for france loss of the largest arms Exports contract in its history, 56 billion Euros in total. Even though French companies would only have received fraction of this amount, as the production would have carried out in Australia and using local partners such as lockhead Martin Australia, Nonetheless Australia has promised to reimburse the expenses already incurred (Several hundred Million Euros), the economic failure is undoubtedly bitter. Above all, this pact is serious blow to the French indo-pacific strategy developed over the past several years, which have build partnership with middle powers around a paris-new delhi-canberra axis, as outlined by President Emmunal Macron during his speech in sydney, in 2018. The idea guiding the French strategy was that the military industrial partnership, in particular the sale of Rafale aircraft to india and submarines to Australia, would anchor state-to-state political cooperation in the long term. It is enevitable that the loss the Australain submarines contract and resulting geopolitical setback have caused teeth to grind in paris.

E). Certain Obstacles in the way of the Completion: 

The joint development of the vessels would raise substantial financial, Technological, human and timing issues. The first nuclear powered submarine will only be available by 2040, unless leased by US or UK navies in mean time. In addition to that The deal envisages the non-proliferation issues from Asian Nations and Organizations like SCO, ASEAN, etc. Morever, this pact, core group of partners on which US can rely in its growing rivalry with china in Indo-Pacific, would make Australia more dependent on Washington in the decades to come. Thus reducing its room for manoeuvre on the international level. Thus, the participants must prepare a plan and policy to deal such hindrances in the way forward of Deal. 

F) Conclusion: 

Trilateral Agreement between the US, the UK, and Australia has raised many concerns regarding the nature and consequences of agreement. The deal is intended to provide Canberra Nuclear powered submarines as well Leverage against the people's republic of china. However, deal has brought about the invective and incendiary responses from the french state which has called the agreement "a stab in the back". To sum up, the Agreement, on the one hand, may bring US stance of counter-balancing China in Indo pacific to fruition,but, on the other hand, it also stimulate the nuclear proliferation and insecurities in indo pacific region. 

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