Why Asean may think twice before standing with China over Aukus

Name: US, UK, Australia announce ‘historic’ military partnership in Pacific
Uploaded: 2021-10-23T14:30:25.000Z
Duration: 3 min 51 s
Description: US, UK, Australia announce ‘historic’ military partnership in Pacific

China has come out strongly against the trilateral security deal as posing hidden dangers to regional peace and stability

But with opinion among Asean members divided, and many wary of China’s own military build-up, Beijing’s regional drive could well face a few hurdles

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Foreign Minister Wang Yi of China has warned of the risks of regional nuclear proliferation posed by the Aukus deal. Photo: Handout

Laura Zhou

Published: 10:30pm, 23 Oct 2021Updated: 8:34am, 24 Oct 2021

China is lobbying neighbours in Southeast Asia to reject a US-led three-way security pact that will allow Australia to field nuclear-powered submarines, but it may prove a tough task, regional observers said.

During separate phone calls with counterparts in Malaysia and Brunei late last month, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the new trilateral deal between Australia, the UK and the US posed hidden dangers to peace and stability in the region.

It would escalate nuclear proliferation risks and spark an arms race in the region if Australia were to acquire submarines that could be armed with nuclear missiles, he warned.

Aukus – as the pact is officially known – could also damage Southeast Asia’s efforts to build a nuclear-weapon-free zone and reignite a cold war mentality by stirring up confrontations, Wang said, according to a statement from China’s foreign ministry.

Wang’s remarks, coming two weeks after the surprise Aukus announcement on September 15, were widely seen as Beijing’s official response to the new Anglophone defence deal designed to contain China’s influence in the region.

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

But observers said it would be hard for Beijing to strike a chord among policymakers in Southeast Asia, where positions over the Aukus pact remain divided.