There is nothing that explicitly mentions China in the three-way deal, people said, but they both pointed out that the subtext of the announcement is that this is another move by Western allies to push back the rise. of China in the military and technological fields.
“This is a startling and extremely welcome sign of the Biden administration’s willingness to empower close allies like Australia by providing state-of-the-art defense technology assistance, which Washington has rarely been willing to do.” said Ashley Townsend, director of foreign policy defense programming at the United States Center in Sydney. “It suggests a new, more strategic approach to working collectively with allies on Indo-Pacific defense priorities.”
Australia’s Financial Review newspaper reported that Canberra will abandon a $ 90 billion submarine deal with France and will now acquire a U.S.-made nuclear-powered submarine. The French agreement had long been in trouble, with the Naval Group, the French shipbuilder in charge of building the 12 submarines, and the Australian government facing design changes and cost increases.
A new class of nuclear-powered submarines would give Washington and its allies in the Pacific a powerful new tool to try to contain Chinese military expansion and follow the current deployment of a British aircraft carrier in the region and recent French transits. and German warships in the South China Sea.
The United States and the United Kingdom have long partnered in their nuclear-powered submarine programs, sharing technology among their various classes of ships. Including Australia in the redoubt would be an important step in increasing the capacity of the three countries to operate together under the sea across the Pacific, as well as adding a strong allied blow to the region that is currently lacking.
Beijing has at its disposal a growing arsenal of missiles and its forces are becoming increasingly aggressive and sailing with naval vessels near Japanese and American waters in recent days. It is part of China’s effort to assert its primacy in the Indo-Pacific and claim disputed territories. Chinese officials say the territory belonging to the country’s “nine-dash line” in the South China Sea belongs to Beijing.
In response, the U.S. continues to establish partnerships with other nations that serve as a bulwark against China. One of these groups is known as “the Quad” and has the United States, Japan, Australia, and India as members. Formed in its current iteration in 2017, the four-nation team never says its economic, technological and military cooperation is trying to frustrate Beijing’s goals, but analysts say the Quad wouldn’t be as robust today if it weren’t. by the continued aggressions of China. .
On September 24, the four leaders of four nations will meet at the White House for the group’s first face-to-face meeting on a personal level.
A trade war between China and Australia has also worsened relations between the countries. The dispute, which began in April 2020 after Prime Minister Scott Morrison called for an investigation into the origins of Covid-19, has cost the two countries about $ 4 billion. Josh Frydenberg, Australia’s treasurer, accused Beijing this month of trying to exert “political pressure” with sanctions on Australian products.
And relations between China and India have also been strained, with recent deadly clashes on the long-disputed border in the Himalayas.