Aukus and its intricacies in brief

 

Malaysia recently expressed its concern over Aukus, the acronym for the trilateral security partnership involving the United States (US), the United Kingdom (UK) and Australia.

Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob had voiced his concern to his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison, whom he had called for details on Aukus, which will equip Australia with state of the art defence capabilities including nuclear-powered submarines.

The three-nation security pact has unleashed fears on the rise of a nuclear arms race in the Indo-Pacific region, where Malaysia and its Asean neighbours are geographically located in between.

Aukus was announced by US President Biden along with UK’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Morrison on Sept 15 at the White House.

Biden said the world is becoming more complex, especially the challenges in the Indo-Pacific region that affects all. Thus, the trilateral partnership has now reached a new level - Aukus - to meet these challenges and to help deliver the security and stability the region needs.

“Aukus will also enhance our contribution to our growing network of partnerships in the Indo-Pacific region: Anzus; our Asean friends; our bilateral strategic partners, the Quad; Five Eyes countries; and, of course, our dear Pacific family,” he said.

The first major initiative of Aukus will be to deliver a nuclear-powered submarine fleet for Australia, with both Biden and Boris making it clear the submarines are nuclear powered and not armed with nuclear weapons. The three nations will continue to meet their nuclear non-proliferation obligations.

France sidelined

The submarines are expected to be built in Adelaide, Australia in close cooperation with the UK and the US, a boon for Australia but a big loss for France as Aukus effectively stripped the US$90 billion defence deal between Paris and Canberra.

The cancelled defence deal is among the reasons for the diplomatic row involving France, Australia, and the US. However, there are many other dimensions to France’s disappointment on Aukus as pointed out by a senior French diplomat in Kuala Lumpur, including its exclusivity.

The diplomat noted that France was never consulted on the trilateral security partnership despite the nation’s long-standing presence, influence and strategies in the Indo-Pacific.

So what necessitates Aukus and why do many nations, including Malaysia, view that a new Cold War could well be over the horizon.

Though the three leaders never mentioned what Aukus is up against, it is obvious the trilateral security partnership is aimed at containing China’s growing influence in the Indo-Pacific region.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian was reported saying Aukus being an “extremely irresponsible” move that “has seriously undermined regional peace and stability.”

Interestingly, Secretary of Russia’s Security Council, Nikolai Patrushev called the pact a “prototype of an Asian NATO”, referring to the North Atlantic security pact covering much of Europe and now seen as a vestige of the Cold War.

A cautious and divided Asean

Asean member states are divided on their views of the new security pact that may give rise to further tension in the contested South China Sea, where China has made its presence felt with increased military activities and territorial claims.

Malaysia is well aware of the powerplay taking shape and does not want to see the region, particularly Southeast Asia and the individual states, dragged into proxy wars or made into geopolitical pawns.

Indonesia, which too has territorial disputes with China over the contested South China Sea, also expressed its concern in what it viewed as a developing arms race and power play in the region.

Nonetheless, the Philippines, which also has territorial disputes with China, appears positive towards Aukus. Singapore, too, hoped the new deal would contribute constructively to the peace and stability of the region and complement the regional architecture.

However, on the whole, Asean states remain cautious as they don’t want to be drawn into US-China rivalry. Moreover, Aukus is still in its infancy and only time will tell how it will take shape and how potent the security pact will be.

- Bernama