The AUKUS deal

(MainsGS2:Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests)

Context:

• United States President Joe Biden unveiled a deal to sell the U.S. Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarines to Australia and to provide American technology for the production of such submarines in British and Australian facilities.
• This will be achieved through a three-decade-long plan under the Australia-United Kingdom-United States (AUKUS) security partnership.

AUKUS plan:

• The three countries have charted a plan stretching till the mid-2050s for them to operate integrated and interoperable nuclear-powered submarine fleets in a phased manner. 
• The plan is expected to cost $268 to $368 billion between now and fruition in the 2050s. 
• This is the first time the United States is sharing its nuclear-powered submarine technology with any country— other than the U.K. in the late 1950s.
• According to the plan’s timeline, Australia will buy three, possibly up to five, Virginia-class SSNs from the U.S. in the 2030s. 
• Its navy will get its first made-in-Australia “SSN AUKUS” boat, with British design and American nuclear propulsion technology in the early 2050s. 
• The SSN-AUKUS will be the future attack submarine for both Australia and the United Kingdom— the U.K. navy will get its first domestically manufactured SSN-AUKUS in the 2040s.

Main objectives:

• Australia says it wants to advance its technological capabilities as conventional diesel-powered submarines will be less able to meet the country’s needs in the future Indo-Pacific security environment. 
• In terms of technical and tactical aspects, nuclear-powered submarines offer superior stealth, capable of remaining completely submerged for years and having significantly lower chances of being detected by adversaries. 
• They are faster and have longer range— the SSN AUKUS will not require refueling throughout its lifetime of about three decades.
• However, the larger aim of the submarine plan is to do with the strategic importance of the Indo-Pacific region.

Countering china:

• China and its rapid military buildup have raised concerns that it could alter the security balance in a region where the U.S. has wielded significant influence.
• A glance at the U.S. document on its Indo-Pacific strategy reveals that countering the actions of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in the Indo-Pacific is one of the cornerstones of American policy.
• China has also put its coast guard and maritime militia in a South China sea region also claimed by the littoral nations of Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, the Philippines, and Vietnam, besides building artificial islands in the region. 
• The U.S is also concerned about China’s intensifying pressure on self-ruled Taiwan— Beijing heldmilitary drills around the island following the visit of former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi last year.

Impact on nuclear non-proliferation:

• China reiterated its long-held view on the AUKUS alliance, calling it the reflection of a “typical Cold War mentality”, and a move that would trigger an arms race and “sabotage” the global nuclear non-proliferation system.
• China said it was an “irony” that “two nuclear weapons states who claim to uphold the highest nuclear non-proliferation standard are transferring tons of weapons-grade enriched uranium to a non-nuclear-weapon state”.
• Under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), to which the U.S. and U.K. (nuclear weapons states) and Australia (not a nuclear weapons state) are signatories, a nuclear-weapon country is not supposed to transfer such weapons or technology to a non-nuclear weapon state. 
• While it prohibits the transfer of nuclear weapons, Article 4 of the Treaty allows the exchange of nuclear materials for “peaceful purposes”.
• The AUKUS partners have been emphasizing, however, that they are committed to meeting their obligations under the NPT, adding that as a non-nuclear-weapon state, “Australia does not — and will not — seek to acquire nuclear weapons”.

Effect on the geopolitical scenario:

• Besides non-proliferation concerns expressed by China, the country’s Foreign Minister Qing Gang described the Indo-Pacific strategy of the U.S. as “encirclement of China”.
• “The U.S. ‘Indo-Pacific Strategy’ seeks to gang up to form exclusive blocs, stir up confrontation, and undermine regional integration.
• Reacting to the deal Malaysia, while appreciating the transparency from the AUKUS partners, maintained its previously critical position on the agreement. 
• Its foreign ministry said it was important for all countries to refrain “from any provocation that could potentially trigger an arms race or affect peace and security in the region.”
• Indonesia also said that it was the responsibility of all countries to maintain “peace and stability” in the region and that Canberra was expected to comply with its non-proliferation obligations.

Conclusion:

• Analysts say that with the deal, the U.S. seeks to show Indo-Pacific partners that security and freedom of navigation in the region is important to it and further the deal would encourage other Indo-Pacific countries to further ties with America.