INSIGHTi
New Developments in the United States’
Strategic and Defense Ties with Australia
September 16, 2021
The Biden Administration is pushing to strengthen the U.S. al iance and is making it a cornerstone of a
broader Indo-Pacific strategic architecture. On September 15, the White House announced a new
Australia-United Kingdom-United States (AUKUS) trilateral security partnership. The three countries
formed the new pact during the 70th anniversary year of the 1951 Australia-New Zealand-United States
(ANZUS) Treaty, and some in the region have labeled AUKUS as ANZUS 2.0. The AUKUS agreement
was announced just prior to the 2021 Australia-United States Ministerial (AUSMIN) meetings held on
September 16, and President Joe Biden wil host Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison as part of the
Quadrilateral (Quad), meetings with their counterparts from Japan and India on September 24, 2021,
suggesting additional initiatives may be announced. Australia’s strategic ties with the United States now
operate through the ANZUS al iance, the Five Eyes intel igence sharing group, the Quadrilateral Security
Dialogue, and the new AUKUS agreement. Congress may be interested in these developments as part of
its oversight of al iance relations and the United States’ strategy toward the Indo-Pacific region or due to
potential large arms sales.
AUKUS
Some observers have described the AUKUS security pact as the most significant security arrangement
between the three nations in a generation “in what’s seen as an effort to counter China.” President Biden
stated in announcing the pact that AUKUS wil “update and enhance our shared ability to take on the
threats of the 21st century just as we did in the 20th century: together.” Biden referenced that the three
nations have “stood shoulder-to-shoulder” and fought together in WWI, WWII, Korea, and the Persian
Gulf, and that AUKUS seeks to “maintain and expand our edge in military capabilities and critical
technologies, such as cyber, artificial intel igence, quantum technologies, and undersea domains.”
The pact focuses mostly on developing military capability, and opens the way for Australia to build
nuclear-powered submarines. Australia reportedly plans to build approximately eight nuclear-powered
submarines in Adelaide. Currently there are six nations that operate nuclear powered submarines, and the
UK, and now Australia, are the only nations with which the United States shares nuclear propulsion
technology. Nuclear-powered submarines do not have the same limitations as conventional submarines
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and can stay submerged for many months. The French Foreign Minister described Australia’s decision to
scrap a previously signed AD$90 bil ion (approximately $66 bil ion) deal to purchase 12 French-designed
submarines to replace its current fleet of six Collins Class diesel-electric powered submarine as “a stab in
the back.” Australia wil reportedly also acquire long range missiles, including Tomahawk cruise missiles
on its Hobart Class destroyers, anti-ship missiles for its Super Hornet aircraft, hypersonic missiles and
unmanned underwater vehicles. The pact is a significant collaboration on capability development and in
the view of some “means China faces a powerful new defence al iance in the Indo-Pacific.”
Observers view AUKUS as a response to growing power and influence by China in the Indo-Pacific
region. China’s trade sanctions against Australia, which have grown since Australia cal ed for an inquiry
into the origins of COVID-19, and China’s efforts to influence Australian politics and expand its own
presence in the South Pacific have contributed to Canberra’s concern about China. China responded to the
AUKUS announcement by stating that the agreement undermines regional peace and stability and
intensifies the arms race. The Global Times, a nationalist Chinese tabloid, described Australia as a
“running dog” of the United States, adding that “since Australia has become an anti-China spearhead, the
country should prepare for the worst.”
AUKUS also bolsters Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s post-Brexit efforts to reassert a global role for the
United Kingdom (UK), as does the 2021 deployment of HMS Queen Elizabeth carrier strike group to the
Indo-Pacific. BAE systems is currently building nine Hunter class frigates for the Royal Australian Navy
and builds the Royal Navy’s nuclear-powered Astute class submarines.
AUKUS does not include New Zealand, which was once a full member of ANZUS. New Zealand has a
history of anti-nuclear policies, and has banned nuclear-powered and nuclear-armed ships from entering
New Zealand. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, however, welcomed the increased
engagement of the United States and the UK in the region, and stated that AUKUS does not change New
Zealand’s relationships with its Five Eyes partners, which include Australia, the UK, the United States,
and Canada.
AUSMIN
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin hosted their Australian
counterparts, Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne and Defense Minister Peter Dutton, on September
16, 2021, for AUSMIN consultations at the Department of State. Their Joint Statement emphasized
“shared values” and the need to “strengthen the rule-based international order.” It also discussed several
initiatives, including; AUKUS and Australia’s acquiring nuclear powered submarines; enhanced force
posture cooperation and al iance integration; strategic capabilities cooperation; and cooperation on
industry, technology, and innovation. Areas of future force posture cooperation identified in the Joint
Statement include “enhanced air cooperation through rotational deployments of U.S. aircraft of al types
... enhanced maritime cooperation by increasing logistics and sustainment capabilities of U.S. surface and
subsurface vessels .. [and] enhanced land cooperation,” among other measures. The Joint Statement also
highlighted “the positive progress made in hypersonic weapons and electromagnetic warfare
cooperation.” The two governments also signed a classified Statement of Intent on Strategic Capabilities
Cooperation and Implementation.
The Quad
On September 24, 2021, President Biden wil host Prime Minister Morrison, as wel as Prime Minister
Narendra Modi of India and Prime Minster Yoshihide Suga of Japan, in the first in-person summit of
leaders of the Quadrilateral group. At their virtual meeting in March 2021, the leaders reaffirmed their
commitment to quadrilateral cooperation and stated that the group is “united in a shared vision for the free
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and open Indo-Pacific ... anchored by democratic values, and unconstrained by coercion.” The four
nations also agreed to work together “to meet chal enges to the rules-based maritime order in the East and
South China Seas,” to produce and distribute COVID-19 vaccines, and to address climate change, among
other provisions.
Author Information
Bruce Vaughn
Specialist in Asian Affairs
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