AUKUS – The Trilateral Security Partnership Agreement

On March 13th the prime ministers of Australia and Britain, Anthony Albanese and Rishi Sunak, joined the U.S. president, Joe Biden in San Diego to announce the implementation of the AUKUS agreement. In his speech, Joe Biden said “AUKUS has one overriding objective: to enhance the stability of the Indo-Pacific region amid rapidly shifting global dynamics.”

The agreement is designed as a trilateral security partnership and aims to enhance their cooperation in defense and security, particularly in the Indo-Pacific region, which is becoming increasingly important in global geopolitics. The main focus of the AUKUS agreement is to share technology and expertise in the area of nuclear-powered submarines, which are considered to be a strategic asset in the region. Although nuclear-powered, the submarines will not be armed with nuclear weapons but conventional missiles.

The AUKUS agreement has resulted in the scrapping of a AU$50bn (€34bn) contract signed in 2016 between Australia and France