[News Terms] 'AUKUS', the US, UK, and Australia’s China Containment Alliance

Indo-Pacific Regional Anti-China Security Consultative Body
Composed of Nuclear Submarine Pillar 1 and Advanced Technology Pillar 2
Discussion of Japan's Possible Participation

On the 12th (local time), Australia signed an agreement with the United States and the United Kingdom allowing the reception of nuclear materials. This enables Australia to import nuclear materials for operating nuclear-powered submarines. The agreement was made in the wake of the formation of the security alliance among the three countries?the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia?called ‘AUKUS’.

‘AUKUS’ is a security consultation body in the Indo-Pacific region formed in September 2021 by Australia (AU), the United Kingdom (UK), and the United States (US). Australia led the launch of AUKUS. Until the mid-2010s, Australia did not pursue policies to counter its largest trading partner, China. However, from the late 2010s, it began to be wary of China’s military expansion and increasing influence in the region. In 2020, Australia called for an international investigation into the origin of COVID-19, to which China responded with economic retaliation. This became the reason Australia regards China as the greatest threat to its national security.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, U.S. President Joe Biden, and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
Photo by Reuters

Having planned military enhancement, Australia unilaterally canceled its diesel submarine construction contract with France in 2022. This was to persuade the United States to transfer nuclear submarine construction technology. France strongly opposed Australia’s decision and recalled its ambassadors from the United States and Australia. The conflict between the two countries was temporarily resolved in June 2022 when Australia paid France a penalty of 555 million euros (approximately 750 billion won).

Meanwhile, the United States and the United Kingdom had shared a strong sense of crisis over China’s expansion of maritime military power in the Indo-Pacific region even before the formation of AUKUS. In particular, the United States believed that existing military alliances such as the Five Eyes and the Quad were insufficient to contain China. This influenced the formation of AUKUS. However, AUKUS officially denies any military containment function against China, emphasizing only military technology cooperation among the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia.

AUKUS consists of two pillars. ‘Pillar 1’ focuses on strengthening Australia’s military deterrence against China. The United States and the United Kingdom transfer nuclear submarine technology to Australia, enabling Australia to build and maintain its own nuclear submarines. The goal of Pillar 1 is for Australia to independently possess eight Virginia-class nuclear submarines by the 2050s. ‘Pillar 2’ emphasizes cooperation in eight advanced military technology fields, including artificial intelligence (AI), quantum technology, hypersonics, cyber, and undersea technologies. Pillar 2 serves as a Plan B for Pillar 1 and takes a longer-term perspective. It prepares for the possibility that even if Australia builds a nuclear submarine fleet, it may not effectively achieve deterrence against China.

The US-Japan presidential couples attending the state banquet held at the White House in Washington DC
Photo by Yonhap News

The United States maintains a firm stance that it has no intention of involving allies such as South Korea in Pillar 1. However, in April, it raised the level of the China containment network by discussing Japan’s inclusion in AUKUS. Some have speculated that AUKUS might become ‘JAUKUS’ by combining Japan’s English country name. However, since the United Kingdom and Australia prefer to focus on cooperation among the original three countries and have shown a passive attitude toward Japan’s membership in AUKUS, the possibility of ‘JAUKUS’ is considered low.