Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States signed the first AUKUS Trilateral Security Partnership.

The document provides for the transfer of information to Australia on naval nuclear power plants.

Australian Defense Minister Peter Dutton announced this on Twitter.  

This morning I met with UK High Commissioner Victoria Treadell and US Chargé d'Affaires Michael Goldman to sign the AUKUS Exchange of Naval Nuclear Propulsion Information Agreement.

This Agreement formalises Australian access to highly sensitive nuclear submarine technology.

pic.twitter.com/UtKYRl6PwS

- Peter Dutton (@PeterDutton_MP) November 22, 2021

“This morning, I met with UK High Commissioner Victoria Tridell and US Charge d'Affaires Michael Goldman to sign the AUKUS Nuclear Submarine Information Exchange Agreement.

This agreement provides Australia with access to highly classified nuclear submarine technology, ”the statement said.  

Dutton later commented on the signing of the agreement in the media, stressing its importance.

“The agreement, for the first time in history, will allow Australia to participate in the exchange of information on nuclear powered systems.

This is a notable achievement and the next step in the implementation of the submarine deal and other deals within the framework of AUKUS, which is very important, ”the Daily Mail quoted Dutton as saying.

The agreement was also supported by Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

“Many do not want this to happen, and that is why, I think, it is so important to take this step,” the Daily Mail quoted him as saying. 

Earlier, on November 19, the agreement was approved by US President Joe Biden.

In a statement released by the White House, it was noted that the implementation of the agreements would not pose an unreasonable risk to the collective defense and security of the three countries.

“The agreement will allow for cooperation that will improve our position on the issue of mutual defense and support our interests within the framework of the North Atlantic Treaty;

The Pacific Security Pact;

and an expanded trilateral security partnership between the three parties known as AUKUS, ”Biden said in a statement.

Also, the appearance of the document was commented on by the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

Department spokesman Zhao Lijian said that Penking is very concerned about its signing.

“China expresses acute concern about the cooperation in the field of nuclear submarines between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States.

This will increase friction in the region, as well as provoke an arms race, pose a threat to regional peace and stability and undermine international efforts in the field of non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, ”the TASS diplomat quoted as saying.

He added that, according to China, the AUKUS countries have ignored international rules by concluding a corresponding agreement on the nuclear submarine.

Anglosphere safety

Recall that the leaders of the United States, Great Britain and Australia announced the creation of the AUKUS partnership (named after the first letters in the names of these countries in English) on September 15.

Within the framework of this association, the states plan to deepen military and military-technical cooperation, which meets "the interests of promoting peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region."

Against the backdrop of the creation of AUKUS, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced that the first initiative under the new alliance will be the creation of nuclear submarines for the Australian Navy.

New nuclear submarines will be built at Australian shipyards using technologies received from Washington and London.

  • Joe Biden, Boris Johnson and Scott Morrison announce the founding of AUKUS

  • AP

  • © Andrew Harnik

At the same time, Morrison said that Australia is refusing a major defense contract with the French Naval Group for the supply of 12 Attack class submarines.

This step led to a diplomatic scandal - France recalled ambassadors from Washington and Canberra, and Foreign Minister of the Fifth Republic Jean-Yves Le Drian said that his country would reconsider relations with Washington and Canberra.

Subsequently, French leader Emmanuel Macron accused the Australian prime minister of lying.

French Ambassador to Australia Jean-Pierre Thébault later also said that Canberra deliberately deceived Paris in unilaterally canceling the contract for the construction of Attack class submarines.

The Australian authorities reject the French side's accusations.

So, on November 12, Scott Morrison once again stated that there was nothing reprehensible in the decision of his cabinet to abandon French submarines in favor of building nuclear submarines within the framework of AUKUS.

“I am making the right decisions ... I am making a decision to protect Australia's national defense interests to ensure that we do not enter into a treaty that does not benefit Australia.

I am not afraid of the fact that some may be upset and displeased, ”the Australian TV channel ABC News quoted the prime minister as saying.

Unambiguous signal

The creation of AUKUS and the decision to transfer technology to Australia for the construction of nuclear submarines was criticized not only in France.

In October, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview with CNBC that the creation of AUKUS undermines regional stability.

“The creation of some blocs, including the one you mentioned: the United States - Great Britain - Australia, undoubtedly undermines regional stability,” the Russian leader noted.

Putin noted that friendship "among themselves" is a positive step, but "to be friends against someone is bad."

"This undermines the stability that we all talk about and we all care about," the Russian president added.

China reacted extremely negatively to the formation of a new alliance.

Beijing also drew attention to the destabilizing influence of AUKUS on the Asia-Pacific region (APR).

Similar concerns were expressed at the IAEA.

Agency director Rafael Grossi noted at the end of October that the implementation of these plans could set a precedent for other non-nuclear states.

As Nikita Danyuk, deputy director of the RUDN Institute for Strategic Studies and Forecasts, a member of the Public Chamber of Russia, noted in a RT commentary, the signing of the current agreement indicates that the United States is serious about changing the balance of power in the region with the help of AUKUS.

“The signing of the first agreement within the framework of AUKUS suggests that this organization will not be nominal on paper, but a truly real union, where they will try to use all kinds of tools in order to change the security configuration in the Asia-Pacific region,” the political scientist emphasized.

The United States wants to curb China's influence in the Asia-Pacific region by supplying Australia with nuclear technology and strengthening its military potential, added Nikita Danyuk.

“With certain manipulations, especially under the guidance of American specialists, this peaceful atom can very quickly become a military one,” the expert noted.

This alliance is clearly directed against the PRC and, to a lesser extent, against the Russian Federation, which is also a Pacific power, said Vladimir Batyuk, head of the Center for Military-Political Studies of the Institute of the USA and Canada of the Russian Academy of Sciences, in an interview with RT.

  • Australian Navy Collins Class Shoe

  • AFP

  • © Peter Parks

“This is an alliance of certain countries of the Anglosphere, not all APR countries that are allies of the United States, in particular Japan and South Korea, were admitted there, which says a lot.

This kind of hierarchy makes some of Washington's non-first-class allies wonder whether they have taken the right side by going for rapprochement with the United States, ”the expert explained.

It is obvious that the PRC in response will seek to strengthen interaction with those countries that are not included in the US zone of influence, Batyuk said.

“China will not be left alone if such alliances are formed around it.

Likewise, Russia, which is now forced to resist the approach of NATO infrastructure to the western borders, has a rear in the face of China, ”concluded Vladimir Batyuk.