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Biden Announces UK, Australia Alliance 09/16 06:08
President Joe Biden announced Wednesday that the United States is forming a
new Indo-Pacific security alliance with Britain and Australia that will allow
for greater sharing of defense capabilities -- including helping equip
Australia with nuclear-powered submarines. It's a move that could deepen a
growing chasm in U.S.-China relations.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Joe Biden announced Wednesday that the United
States is forming a new Indo-Pacific security alliance with Britain and
Australia that will allow for greater sharing of defense capabilities --
including helping equip Australia with nuclear-powered submarines. It's a move
that could deepen a growing chasm in U.S.-China relations.
Biden made the announcement alongside British Prime Minister Boris Johnson
and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who joined him by video to unveil
the new alliance, which will be called AUKUS (pronounced AWK-us). The three
announced they would quickly turn their attention to developing nuclear-powered
submarines for Australia.
"We all recognize the imperative of ensuring peace and stability in the
Indo-Pacific over the long term," said Biden, who said the new alliance
reflects a broader trend of key European partners playing a role in the
Indo-Pacific. "We need to be able to address both the current strategic
environment in the region and how it may evolve."
None of the leaders mentioned China in their remarks. But the new security
alliance is likely to be seen as a provocative move by Beijing, which has
repeatedly lashed out at Biden as he's sought to refocus U.S. foreign policy on
the Pacific in the early going of his presidency.
Before the announcement, a senior administration official sought to play
down the idea that the alliance was meant to serve as a deterrent against China
in the region. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to preview
the announcement, said the alliance's creation was not aimed at any one
country, and is about a larger effort to sustain engagement and deterrence in
the Indo-Pacific by the three nations.
Johnson said the alliance would allow the three English-speaking maritime
democracies to strengthen their bonds and sharpen their focus on an
increasingly complicated part of the world.
"We will have a new opportunity to reinforce Britain's place at the leading
edge of science and technology, strengthening our national expertise, and
perhaps most significant, the U.K., Australia and the U.S. will be joined even
more closely together, " Johnson said.
The three countries have agreed to share information in areas including
artificial intelligence, cyber and underwater defense capabilities.
But plans to support Australia acquiring nuclear-powered submarines are
certain to catch Beijing's attention. To date, the only country that the United
States has shared nuclear propulsion technology with is Britain. Morrison said
Australia is not seeking to develop a nuclear weapons program and information
sharing would be limited to helping it develop a submarine fleet.
The Australian prime minister said plans for the nuclear-powered submarines
would be developed over the next 18 months and the vessels would be built in
Adelaide, Australia.
Australia had announced in 2016 that French company DCNS had beat out
bidders from Japan and Germany to build the next generation of submarines in
Australia's largest-ever defense contract.
Top French officials made clear they were unhappy with the deal, which
undercuts the DCNS deal.
"The American choice to exclude a European ally and partner such as France
from a structuring partnership with Australia, at a time when we are facing
unprecedented challenges in the Indo-Pacific region, whether in terms of our
values or in terms of respect for multilateralism based on the rule of law,
shows a lack of coherence that France can only note and regret," French foreign
minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and defense minister Florence Parly said in a joint
statement.
Morrison said the three countries had "always seen through a similar lens,"
but, as the world becomes more complex, "to meet these new challenges, to help
deliver the security and stability our region needs, we must now take our
partnership to a new level."
Matt Pottinger, who served as deputy national security adviser in the Trump
administration, said that equipping Australia with nuclear-powered submarines
was a significant step that would help the U.S. and its allies on the military
and diplomatic fronts.
Underwater warfare capabilities have been Beijing's "Achilles' heel,"
Pottinger said. A nuclear-powered submarine fleet would allow Australia to
conduct longer patrols, giving the new alliance a stronger presence in the
region.
"When you have a strong military, it provides a backdrop of deterrence that
gives countries the confidence to resist bullying," said Pottinger, who is now
a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. "Part of
the problem right now is that Beijing has gotten rather arrogant and it's been
less willing to engage productively in diplomacy."
The announcement of the new security alliance comes as the U.S.-China
relationship has deteriorated. Beijing has taken exception to Biden
administration officials repeatedly calling out China over human rights abuses
in Xianjing province, the crackdown on democracy activists in Hong Kong, and
cybersecurity breaches originating from China, as well as Beijing's handling of
the coronavirus pandemic and what the White House has labeled as "coercive and
unfair" trade practices.
Even as White House officials have repeatedly spoken out about China,
administration officials say they want to work with Beijing on areas of common
interest, including curbing the pandemic and climate change.
Biden spoke by phone with China's President Xi Jinping last week amid
growing frustration on the American side that high-level engagement between the
two leaders' top advisers has been largely unfruitful.
After the 90-minute phone call, official Xinhua News Agency reported that Xi
expressed concerns that U.S. government policy toward China has caused "serious
difficulties" in relations.
Asked Tuesday about media reports that Xi had declined to commit to meet
with him in person, the U.S. president said it was "untrue." Biden did not
speak in "specific terms" about the new AUKUS alliance during last week's call
with the Chinese leader, according to the senior administration official.
The U.S. and Australia, along with India and Japan, are members of a
strategic dialogue known as "the Quad." Biden is set to host fellow Quad
leaders at the White House next week.
Biden has sought to rally allies to speak with a more unified voice on China
and has tried to send the message that he would take a radically different
approach to China than former President Donald Trump, who placed trade and
economic issues above all else in the U.S.-China relationship.
In June, at Biden's urging, Group of Seven nations called on China to
respect human rights in Hong Kong and Xinjiang province and to permit a full
probe into the origins of COVID-19. While the allies broadly agreed to work
toward competing against China, there was less unity on how adversarial a
public position the group should take.
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