AUKUS: Below the Surface
The newly formed AUKUS partnership, a trilateral defense technology arrangement bringing together the US, the UK, and Australia, signals a shift in Washington’s regional posture. It seeks to close ranks with important allies, particularly vis-à-vis China, and illustrates the subordination of non-proliferation and diplomatic concerns to strategic utility, argue Niklas Masuhr and Névine Schepers in this CSS Analysis.
In September 2021, Australia, the UK, and the US announced the creation of a trilateral security partnership named AUKUS. The new format is intended to strengthen defense cooperation between the three nations in four areas – artificial intelligence (AI) as well as cyber, quantum, and undersea technologies – and will include the development of an Australian fleet of nuclear-powered submarines (SSN) through the transfer of US or British technology. The implications of this new partnership are significant in a number of ways, if uncertain.