AUKUS

Beyond responding to the China threat, AUKUS is also a tool to maintain U.S. Indo-Pacific engagement through whatever domestic storms are to come in Washington.

The impact of AUKUS is likely to be profoundly consequential across a wider purview of government, policy, economic structure, and national identity.

The plan announced on Monday is ambitious, massively expensive, and laden with risk far exceeding anything Australia has attempted before. 

Prime Minister Albanese called the AUKUS deal “the biggest single investment in Australia’s defense capability in all of our history.”

U.K. intelligence agencies have expressed growing concern about China's military might, covert activities, and economic muscle. 

Prime Minister Albanese is in India until March 11. After that, he will head to the U.S. in a trip that may provide more details about the AUKUS submarine deal.

Despite the current détente, five major issues may place further strain on the Australia-China relationship next year.

At the International Atomic Energy Agency’s general conference last week, India backed AUKUS in the face of Russian and Chinese opposition.

From Indonesian concerns to possible overreliance on an unpredictable U.S., Australia’s nuclear submarine ambitions present plenty of challenges.

One year on, the announcement of the Australia-U.K.-U.S alliance has not been accompanied by any major changes to France’s Indo-Pacific defense strategy.

Could nuclear-free New Zealand join an alliance centered on nuclear submarines?