Spartan Spirit - Best for the West - Episode 3: AUKUS

AUKUS Podcast Notes

On 15 Sep 2021, Australia, United Kingdom, and United States forged a defence partnership, called AUKUS.

In the words of the government press releases on that day, AUKUS is an enhanced trilateral security partnership focused on the Indo-Pacific region. To be blunt, it’s about deterring Chinese aggression in the Indo-Pacific.

There are many views, pro and con, on AUKUS. I asset that to defend the Western democracy and individualism, the West must be prepared to defend against Chinese hegemony.

The following references give you a sample of the evidence, research, and opinions that abound.

References:

·             The joint press release from the three leaders of AUKUS.

·             President Xi, referring to Taiwan:

o   "No one should underestimate the Chinese people's staunch determination, firm will, and strong ability to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity,"

o   "The historical task of the complete reunification of the motherland must be fulfilled, and will definitely be fulfilled."

o   And “we reserve the option of taking all measures necessary.”

·             PACOM’s commander, Adm. Philip Davidson, Mar 2021, told the Senate Armed Services Committee, “The threat is manifest during this decade – in fact, in the next six years.”

·             Australian Defence Minister Dutton, referring to US presence in Australia, said “if that includes basing and includes the storage of different ordnances, I think that is in Australia’s best interest.”

·             South China Sea, a book by Bill Hayton. An outstanding account of why this area is in dispute.

·             Objective articles:

·             Stephen Kuper’s How does Australia turn the tide in a new Cold War?

·             Michael Shoebridge, What is AUKUS and what is it not? How does it connect to the Quad, the Sydney Dialogue, ASEAN and Indo-Pacific security?

·       This is an excellent summary of the issues.

·             Defence Connect: Embracing the novel key to shaping better national security choices: Lowy Institute

·             International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) published UK commitment to the Indo-Pacific

·             Defensenews, Heidi Shyu, the Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering.

·             Lauren Kahn on the cfr.org website.  https://www.cfr.org/blog/aukus-alliance-has-lot-more-offer-submarines . Good detail.

·             Peter Jennings in The Australian Keep Calm and Carry On Won’t Stop Beijing’s Ambition. Excellent.

·             Leoni and Tzinieris, To Exclude or Not to Exclude: AUKUS and Order-Engineering,

·             Conference of Defence Associations (CDA Institute), The Taiwan Strait - What can Canada do?

·             Peter Jennings in The Australian, It’s time to return fire against AUKUS naysayers

·             Biased and/or unsubstantiated articles:

·             The Lowy Institute’s The big AUKUS question that Albanese has yet to answer

·             James Curran, AUKUS is setting up Australia to be a US auxiliary in war over Taiwan.

·             Albert Palazzo in The Strategist, The opportunity cost of AUKUS | The Strategist (aspistrategist.org.au)

In Summary, AUKUS is a good start, but it needs to be soooo much more.