How does AUKUS divide Asia, what is its purpose, and where will it lead? Experts explain.

Sputnik Brazil - The US president and the British and Australian prime ministers met in California to update the key principles and characteristics of the trilateral defense alliance AUKUS. The alliance plans to provide nuclear-powered submarines to Australia, definitively establishing China as a potential enemy.

Although the member countries of the AUKUS alliance (USA, Australia and United Kingdom), meeting on Monday (13), stated that they were not focusing on any specific adversary, the alliance is clearly, by its structure and by comments from its member nations, intended to "deter" China in the Indo-Pacific region.

What is the purpose of AUKUS?

The last time the US, Australia, and the UK joined forces "to combat aggression in the Pacific" was over 70 years ago, when they fought against Japan.

In September 2021, these countries designated China as their main enemy in the Asia-Pacific region and began actively forming a military alliance against Beijing.

The trilateral security cooperation pact AUKUS is best known for providing for the construction of nuclear-powered submarines for Australia using American and British technology.

What price will Australia pay for its participation in AUKUS?

Second According to the Washington Post, the agreement, worth more than US$67 billion (R$351 billion), assumes that US Virginia-class submarines will begin arriving in Australia from 2032, while the British SSN-AUKUS submarines, designed specifically for the alliance, will not reach the Australian continent until the 2040s.

Australia itself should also be allowed to build nuclear-powered AUKUS-type SSNs, using technology from the US and the UK.

To join AUKUS, Canberra had to break a €56 billion (R$314,3 billion) contract with the French company Naval Group, which was supposed to supply 12 Barracuda-class attack submarines.

France called Australia's decision to break the agreement a "stab in the back," but has not decided to openly express its displeasure with the alliance's new mentor – the United States.

Why are AUKUS's plans unappealing to Australian citizens?

Australians are concerned about the future positioning of nuclear-powered submarines off the coast of the country. Many believe that the agreement with the United States and the United Kingdom represents a potential risk to Australian sovereignty. ready The ABC channel.

In this case, the ports where the nuclear submarines will be based will become potential enemy targets, as they will transition from commercial to military use, depriving many Australians of their businesses.

Furthermore, Australia will face the question of how nuclear submarines will be controlled? What to do with nuclear waste and decommissioning Nuclear submarines?

Authorities have remained stubbornly silent on the matter, which only increases Australians' concerns, notes ABC.

Who else in the world is worried about AUKUS's plans?

In addition to the French, who lost a lot of money, Indonesia also expressed dissatisfaction with the emergence of a new military alliance in the Asia-Pacific region.

Previously published by Asia News Network reported The Indonesian Foreign Minister informed her Australian counterpart that Canberra must make its activities in the AUKUS transparent and strictly comply with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Otherwise, the rivalry between China and Western powers could escalate into open conflict affecting all countries in the region.

Russia also sees risks in the fact that Australia has a nuclear-powered fleet.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu recalled that the US had explained its withdrawal from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty by the need to offset efforts by Russia and China in developing missiles with a range allegedly prohibited by the treaty.

Now Washington is insisting on deploying nuclear-powered submarines in Australia, ostensibly to counter China's growing naval capabilities. According to Shoigu, such actions are directly aimed at undermining the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and will lead to a new nuclear arms race.

It is not surprising that criticism of the trilateral alliance comes from Beijing, which considers the US-UK-Australia partnership against China a relic of the Cold War.

Chinese authorities believe that Australia's participation in AUKUS threatens the country with major problems in relations with Beijing, which have only begun to improve after three years of trade war. writes Foreign Policy magazine.

Beijing also points out that the AUKUS pact involves the exchange of information and technology between the three countries in areas ranging from intelligence and quantum technologies to hypersonic weapons, which makes the situation in the region even more explosive.

According to Russian military analyst Igor Korotchenko, the delivery of the nuclear submarines is clearly linked to the confrontation with China, which has announced its intention to build "the best army in the world," and is also a demonstrative response to Beijing's recent decisions to give Xi Jinping a de facto unlimited mandate as president of China.

"Australia thus becomes an important partner of the US and the UK in the Asia-Pacific region, along with South Korea and Japan. In other words, these are the first steps towards a complete fleet of nuclear submarines, adapted for military operations against China," says the expert.

In fact, this is a "NATO-ization" of the Asia-Pacific region, which also involves other countries, according to him. So far, India has taken a cautious stance. Although it has its own conflict situations with China, it does not want to aggravate bilateral relations.

"Whether this will increase tensions in the region is still difficult to say, since it won't happen before the 2030s. And we're not talking about nuclear weapons, but about..." nuclear propulsion systems [...] Nuclear-powered submarines would give the Australian Navy much more strategic power because they could remain at sea for months. Furthermore, Australia will also conduct electronic surveillance of the Chinese fleet. Therefore, it's not just about submarines; it's about a systemic confrontation with China."