Writer Max Boot argues that the United States has gained a lot from agreeing to share nuclear-powered submarine technology with Australia as part of a new agreement with Canberra and London in what he calls "AUKUS" in reference to the initials of the three countries.
But this achievement, as the writer says in his article in the Washington Post, came at a cost when France, which considered the matter a stab in the back, recalled its ambassadors from Canberra and Washington (not London) in a fit of anger at the loss of a $66 billion agreement to sell diesel submarines to Australia. .
The writer considered that "Ocos" is the kind of "very big deal" that former President Donald Trump always bragged about but rarely accomplished, and that it turns the "Pacific axis" announced by former President Barack Obama into more than an empty slogan.
He referred to a report by the US Department of Defense stating that "China still lacks a strong capability in the deep waters for anti-submarine warfare," which the writer considered a weakness that the Royal Australian Navy will be able to exploit in cooperation with the American and British fleets, where the United States already operates 68 nuclear submarines and Britain 11.
Biden should have done better with France but he deserves to be commended for a big win in the United States' competition with China, the most important strategic conflict of the 21st century.
He added that once Australian nuclear submarines are ready they will reduce China's ability to control the sea lanes and invade or blockade Taiwan, and the balance of naval power will tilt even more against China if Japan, which already has 20 diesel submarines, builds its own nuclear submarines.
This program needs to be accelerated to narrow Australia's vulnerability and reduce China's incentives to launch aggression while it can still do so.
He commented that the blame rests entirely with Chinese President Xi Jinping for this development, as Beijing's expansionist territorial claims, horrific human rights abuses and brutal "wolf warrior" diplomacy have alarmed its neighbors and created a strategic opportunity for the United States to form an alliance to contain China.
However, in the writer's opinion, France's anger over "Ocos" is somewhat understandable because the deal was unnecessarily hidden from it during its negotiation, considering that French President Emmanuel Macron's failure to notify French President Emmanuel Macron in advance of this is a wrong diplomatic practice for the administration of President Joe Biden.
Which the writer considered part of the Biden administration's failure, as it did in its failure to consult with European allies before its withdrawal from Afghanistan, adding that this kind of indifference is expected from the "America First" administration in reference to Trump's slogan, and better than that was expected from the team. America is back.
The article concluded that Biden should have done better with France, but he deserves credit for winning a major victory in the United States' competition with China, the most important strategic conflict of the 21st century.