Opinion | Beijing went ballistic at Australia. When will the soul-searching start?

Name: US, UK, Australia announce ‘historic’ military partnership in Pacific
Uploaded: 2021-09-28T10:11:42.000Z
Duration: 3 min 51 s
Description: US, UK, Australia announce ‘historic’ military partnership in Pacific

China was floored by the Aukus agreement on nuclear-powered submarines and warned it could make the US ally a bigger target

But Beijing’s rhetoric could send a chilling message to other smaller powers in the region

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The Aukus deal will give Australia access to nuclear-powered submarine technology. Photo: AFP

Shi Jiangtao

Published: 6:11pm, 28 Sep 2021Updated: 10:29pm, 28 Sep 2021

Australia’s decision to sign a new security alliance with the United States and Britain took China by surprise.

The three-way Aukus pact, aimed at deterring China, is potentially a game changer in the Indo-Pacific because it allows Canberra to become the first country without nuclear weapons to acquire nuclear-propelled submarine technology.

Although Australia’s nuclear submarine fleet may not be operational until about 2040, the deal has already raised fears of an intensifying nuclear arms race in the region and attracted a barrage of criticism from Beijing.

Just hours after the deal was made public two weeks ago, nationalist tabloid Global Times cited an unnamed “senior Chinese military expert” as warning the agreement could make Australia “a potential target for a nuclear strike”.

“Aukus is putting Australia in danger,” the expert was quoted as saying, because “Beijing and Moscow won’t treat Canberra as ‘an innocent non-nuclear power’, but ‘a US ally that could be armed with nuclear weapons at any time’.”

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US, UK, Australia announce ‘historic’ military partnership in Pacific

In an interview with the Australian broadcaster ABC last week, Victor Gao, best known as late paramount leader Deng Xiaoping’s English interpreter, also went ballistic at the submarine deal, calling it “a gross violation of international law” with “profound consequences”.