Now you may ask why are we discussing a geo-political topic in today's weekly blog. The answer is simple in the long run this alliance is going to be repeated again and again in the news and the new alliance between America, UK and Australia has the power to change the geo-political situation of the area. So we thought hey, why not we discuss about it. So without any delay lets get started.
US President Joe Biden, along with the prime ministers of the UK and Australia, announced, on Thursday, that the three nations were forging a new trilateral security pact, presumably, aimed at countering China's expansionism in the Indo-Pacific. Under which America and Britain will help Australia deploy nuclear-powered submarines in the Pacific region.
What is Aukus?
With the establishment of the new security agreement, Australia will now become the only nation besides Britain to gain access to US technology used to build nuclear-powered submarines. It is, as yet, unclear whether Australia will look to Britain to acquire BAE System Astute-class submarines or US-made Virginia-class vessels.
However, it is believed that the Australian Navy will look to purchase, at least, eight nuclear submarines. In doing so, the country will join an elite group of nations to have such assets which also includes India, Russia, China, France, the UK and the US.
The acquisition of nuclear-powered submarines will give the Australian Navy a significant edge. These submarines are noted for their high endurance, allowing them to travel undetected underwater for longer periods of time.
As per some reports, the deal will also extend to Australia procuring Tomahawk cruise missiles, Joint Air to Surface Standoff Missiles, and Long Range Anti Ship Missiles. The terms of the deal will also cover AI, cyber and quantum technologies.
So is Nuclear Submarines a problem for China?
This is primarily because a nuclear-powered submarine gives a navy the capability to reach far out into the ocean and launch attacks.
Unlike conventional submarines, which are generally considered helpful for defensive purposes, the ability of a nuclear-powered submarine to go long distances, at a higher speed, without being detected gives a nation the ability to protect its interests far from its shores.
In the context of the AUKUS agreement, nuclear-powered submarines will give the Royal Australian Navy the capability to go into the South China Sea, where China is increasingly getting aggressive, to protect its assets and conduct patrols — even though this has not been spelt out by the three countries.
Why are the French not happy?
The French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian has called it a “stab in the back”. There is a history to this.
Back in 2016 — when Le Drian was President François Hollande’s defence minister — Australia had signed a contract to buy 12 Attack-class submarines from the French shipbuilder Naval Group worth nearly $ 90 billion. The defence and foreign ministers of Australia had “reconfirmed” the deal to France just two weeks back, Reuters reported.
Well what did India do?
Using the opportunity properly our foreign minister S.Jaishankar called on for strategic ties between the French and India.
France’s foreign affairs minister has agreed with his Indian counterpart to work on a programme to promote “a truly multilateral international order”, the French foreign ministry said.
Jean-Yves Le Drian and Subrahmanyam Jaishankar also agreed during a call to deepen their strategic partnership, “based on a relationship of political trust between two great sovereign nations of the Indo-Pacific”, the ministry said in a statement on Saturday.
Does India have nuclear-powered submarines?
Yes, India is among the six nations that have SSNs. The other five are the US, the UK, Russia, France and China.
India has had the capacity since it got the Soviet-built K-43 Charlie-class SSN in 1987. Commissioned with the Red Fleet of the USSR in 1967, it was leased to the Indian Navy, and was rechristened INS Chakra. The submarine was decommissioned in 1991.
In 2012 India got another Russian SSN on a 10-year lease, called INS Chakra 2.
In the mean time, India was working on building its own SSN, and the first Indian nuclear submarine, the INS Arihant, was commissioned in 2016. A second Arihant-class submarine, INS Arighat, was secretly launched in 2017, and is likely to be commissioned soon.
Social Plugin