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"By pushing "bloc structures, such as AUKUS and NATO infrastructure into Asia, Western leaders are making a serious bid for a confrontation lasting for many, long years. I cannot imagine the great Asian civilizations toeing the line the way the EU unfortunately did, and obediently delivering Washington's agenda."AUKUS - a military alliance comprising the UK, US and Australia - was touted as a mechanism to counter China's influence in the Asia-Pacific region when it was founded in 2021.
Former Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating has fired a broadside against the current government for its endorsement of the AUKUS security bloc and the purchase of American submarines. It doesn't help protect the country and drags it into the US attempt to preserve its hegemony by containing China, he has argued.China warns the sub agreement could trigger a regional arms race:
Keating, who chaired the Australian government in the 1990s, reiterated his negative view of the purchase of Virginia-class nuclear-powered boats in a lengthy rebuke this week. He branded it the "worst international decision" by an Australian Labor government since conscription in World War I. "It must be the worst deal in all history."
The Australian Royal Navy is buying up to five attack submarines from the US and possibly building three more with the UK's help. The deal is estimated to cost 360 billion Australian dollars ($240bn).
With that investment, Australia could have 40 to 50 domestically-built Collins-class diesel-electric submarines instead, Keating suggested.
A larger fleet would be far better at protecting Australia from a possible invasion, which would require an "armada of troops ships" reaching its coast, he believes. Meanwhile, the nuclear subs would be sent to the Chinese coast to potentially take part in a US-Chinese conflict, the former prime minister suggested."It's a strange way to defend Australia to have your submarines sunk on the Chinese continental shelf chasing Chinese submarines. We are part of a [US] containment policy against China. It's about one matter only: the maintenance of US strategic hegemony in Southeast Asia."The politician dismissed as "rubbish" the idea that China poses a military threat to Australia in the first place and shamed national journalists peddling it.
The trilateral bloc has "gone further down a wrong and dangerous road," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said commenting on US President Joe Biden's decision to supply the military hardware to Australia.
Wang warned that the deal could have broader implications towards peace in the Indo-Pacific region, and might "stimulate an arms race, undermine the international nuclear non-proliferation system and damage regional peace and stability."
When asked on Monday if Beijing was justified in considering the nuclear submarines deal as a security threat or an act of aggression, Biden responded: "No."
A joint statement released by Biden, Sunak, and Albanese on Monday said that the "historic" deal indicated the three nations sought to "sustain peace, stability and prosperity around the world."
Comment: So Switzerland claims it will be fine because it has stricter requirements, but at the same time it admits that it will bail out any of its banks that need it?...
More on the situation from The Guardian: See also: