“Okus,” said the ally. Cold War, China retaliates. We are angry and France is angry. What is going on?
It was late in England. Midday in the United States. And early in the morning in Australia.
Many peoples of countries probably had their morning coffee or dinner down their throats when their leaders gave a press conference on Wednesday:
Australia will get something they didn’t have before. They are nuclear powered submarines.
The reason is a new military cooperation between the United States, Australia and England. They called it “AUKUS”.
China prefers to call it something completely different.
We will share technology
AUKUS will make it easier for partner countries to share advanced technology. Traditionally, it has been reserved for the United States and the United Kingdom.
And now the two countries are inviting Australia to join the gang. All three will share, among other things, artificial intelligence, electronic technology and underwater technology.
The latter means that Australia is getting nuclear-powered submarines.
The fact that it is nuclear powered does not mean it is equipped with nuclear weapons. Instead, it’s submarines that get their energy from nuclear fission. This allows them to stay under water longer.
It will be years before the country actually gets its own ships. Meanwhile, the United States writes Politico.
More specifically near the Indo-Pacific region.
It also operates a constantly growing China.
The new partnership is attracting attention.
Here are four questions and answers about “China’s worst nightmare.”
1. Why is this happening now?
The short answer is China. The superpower was not named once during the press conference by the three world leaders.
However, the country is cited as the main reason for starting the AUKUS collaboration.
China will likely soon have the largest economy in the world. The country already has the second largest defense budget in the world.
Chinese authorities are investing, among other things, in new military technology. The Indian and Pacific Oceans became a kind of stadium for testing equipment.
On the other side of this sea is Australia, which has gradually developed a more acidic relationship with China since 2018. During the pandemic, things got worse.
Last year, Australia called for an international investigation into the origins of the pandemic. China responded with a trade war that hit the Australian economy hard.
The United States and China are already fighting a trade war.
Australia will now team up with the United States and the United Kingdom, among other things, to be better equipped against China.
2. Is this necessary?
Yes, members of the American University of Kosovo believe. The heads of state were full of praise:
This is about investing in our greatest strength. our alliance. And to update it to face current and future threats in the future.
This is what US President Joe Biden said.
“We must take our cooperation to a new level,” said Australian President Scott Morrison.
We have undoubtedly entered a new era. It presents new challenges for Australia, our partners, our friends, and the countries of the region. This means that we must share the same vision of peace and stability.
Morrison said nuclear-powered submarines would help ensure that. He stressed that this does not mean that Australia is looking for nuclear weapons.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the technology would “make the world safer”. He described the plans for nuclear-powered submarines as follows:
One of the most complex and technically challenging projects in the world. They will last for decades and require the latest technology.
3. What is China’s reaction?
A few hours after the launch of AUKUS, China criticized the cooperation.
Land should not build exclusive blocks that target and harm third parties. A spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, Liu Bingyu, said:
They have to get rid of the Cold War mentality.
4. What consequences could it have?
Collaboration could have consequences for the Australian portfolio. Although the political distance between China and Australia has grown, the two countries have close economic relations.
China is Australia’s largest export market. But the latter lost about 46 billion Norwegian kroner as a result of the quarrel between the two countries over Corona. New tensions could lead to more losses, according to another Report from the OECD.
Australia accused China last week of deliberately damaging the economy.
AUKUS can also lead to dissatisfaction in New Zealand, the neighboring country of Australia, which is not involved in cooperation. The country is strongly opposed to nuclear weapons.
Australian nuclear-powered submarines would not be welcome in New Zealand waters. The country’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said this during a press conference on Thursday.
The agreement also excludes other partners in the region. India and Japan, which together with the United States and Australia form the “Quartet”, are not included.
In France, AUKUS is causing outrage. In fact, Australia was going to buy submarines from them. The avalanche has now been eliminated. It was worth 40 billion dollars. This is equivalent to 344 billion Norwegian kroner.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian described the attack as an ambush.
– He said on Thursday, “We have established a relationship of trust with Australia, but that trust has been shattered.”
– I am very angry today, and bitter. This is not something allies do to each other. This sudden and largely unexpected decision reminds us of what Trump could have done.
He also described it as an “American option to exclude a European ally.”
It raises questions about how the agreement will affect US-European relations. Britain’s involvement is not interpreted as part of European relations with the United States. Instead, AUKUS is seen as Johnson’s next step in his “Global Britain” plan after Brexit, Writes The New York Times.
Europe remained on the sidelines and France was angry. This raises the question of whether the American University of Kosovo can join the ranks of the conflicts between the United States and Europe.
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