With a new security partnership for the Indo-Pacific region, the United States, Great Britain and Australia are countering China's expansion of power in the region even more strongly.
The alliance should enable Australia, among other things, to build nuclear-powered submarines for the first time.
The American President Joe Biden, the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced the new pact called "AUKUS" late on Wednesday.
Till Fähnders
Political Correspondent for Southeast Asia.
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Biden described the alliance as a "historic step" with which the tried and tested cooperation between the three partners will be further deepened and formalized in order to secure peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific in the long term. "We have to be able to deal with both the current strategic environment in the region and its possible developments," said Biden.
Johnson said in a similar way: "The aim is to work hand in hand to maintain security and stability in the Indo-Pacific," said the British Prime Minister.
With the security partnership, the three countries opened “a new chapter” in their friendship.
Australian Prime Minister Morrison pointed out that the future of the Indo-Pacific will affect the future of all three countries.
The heads of government referred to the common values and their commitment to the “rule-based order” under which they were involved in the region.
China: Cold War Mentality
Although the pact clearly turns its gaze towards China, the country was not mentioned once in the statements.
However, the Chinese embassy in Washington immediately condemned him.
The countries should "not form an exclusive bloc that targets or harms the interests of third parties".
They should "shed their Cold War mentality and ideological prejudices," said a Reuters news agency spokesman.
According to the heads of government, the cooperation will not be limited to the narrow framework of the three countries.
Among other things, the ASEAN states, the "Quad" called Security Dialogue, to which Japan and India belong in addition to the USA and Australia, but also European states such as France, with which the three countries in the Indo-Pacific want to exchange ideas more closely, were named.
In a separate communication, Morrison and several of his ministers clearly warned of the greatly increased security policy challenges in the area. The armies were modernizing at an unprecedented rate, rapidly expanding their capabilities and expanding their range. "The technological lead that Australia and our partners have is getting smaller," it said.
While the areas of cyber and artificial intelligence should also play a role in the alliance, the focus of the pact is now initially on the construction of nuclear-powered submarines in Australia.
According to Johnson, the project will be one of the "most complex and technically demanding on earth" that will be carried out over several decades.
The three heads of government announced that planning should begin in the next 18 months.
New conventional submarines no longer needed
The Morrison government announced that a deal for the delivery of twelve conventional attack-class submarines with the French Naval Group will be discontinued. The French provider had prevailed against the German manufacturer Thyssen-Krupp Marine Services (TKMS) in the lucrative business. The project was criticized for multiple delays and rising costs.
The Canberra government thanked the Naval Group and its partner Lockheed Martin Australia on Thursday for their work to date.
"However, in view of the accelerated changes in the regional security architecture, conventional submarines will no longer be suitable for our operational needs in the coming decades," it said.
The Australian government spoke of at least eight nuclear powered submarines expected to be built in Adelaide, South Australia.
All three heads of government pointed out that the submarines should not be equipped with nuclear weapons.
"These are conventional submarines that are nuclear powered," said Biden.
In addition, Australia has announced plans to purchase additional military equipment, including Tomahawk missiles.