Australia will host, buy, then build nuclear submarines as part of the AUKUS alliance with the United States and United Kingdom. The deal is complex: three-parts over four-decades and a 12-digit price tag (~368 billion). The biggest defence project in Australian history, it’s also a significant commitment from the US and UK towards containing China.
If you want to learn more, a few pieces I’ve enjoyed:
- An academic who thinks AUKUS is a good idea to counter: the military power, ambition, reach and recklessness of a hard authoritarian China. Pair this with a positive editorial from Australia’s version of the Financial Times.
- An academic who thinks AUKUS is a bad idea, hastily agreed on and rushed past an electorate unaware of what they were signing up to, never has so much been so meagerly explained by so few. See also a separate piece on AUKUS in the context of the 20th anniversary of the Iraq War.
- A balanced exploration of the questions AUKUS proponents need to answer.
- For a cocktail of vitriol, hyperbole and truth see former Prime Minister Paul Keating on “the worst international decision by an Australian Labor government since the former Labor leader, Billy Hughes, sought to introduce conscription to augment Australian forces in World War One.”
- If you’re more listener than reader – here’s a short podcast interview with a big name (and AUKUS skeptic) in Australian defence.
Happy reading.
Something Interesting. Most Days. 