https://www.scmp.com/rss/510823/feed The United States, Britain and Australia announced a security pact, dubbed the "Aukus" alliance, in September 2021, which includes an agreement to help Canberra secure a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines. The move was seen as targeted at China, and has caused anger in France and India. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Göktuğ Çalışkan Göktuğ Çalışkan When the United States and the Philippines opened this year’s Balikatan exercises, the message travelled far beyond the parade ground. More than 17,000 troops are taking part in drills set to run until May 8. What matters is where the drills unfold, who has joined and what kind of regional habit they are helping to normalise. Japan took part in its first Balitakan live-fire exercises. Australia, Canada, France and New Zealand were also active participants. Then the exercises moved closer to... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3352387/why-chinas-warning-over-military-blocs-finding-listeners-asia?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3352387/why-chinas-warning-over-military-blocs-finding-listeners-asia?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 07 May 2026 21:30:05 +0000 Li Xing Li Xing Geopolitics, at its core, examines how geography shapes international politics, power distribution and security dynamics. One enduring idea is geographer Halford Mackinder’s “heartland” theory, which situates Eurasia as the central arena of global power competition. In 1904, Mackinder argued that the vast land mass of Europe and Asia – what he called the “world island” – contained a pivotal core, the “heartland”, rich in resources, population and strategic depth. His dictum – “Who rules Eastern... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3351015/why-us-led-security-alliances-asia-are-losing-coherence?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3351015/why-us-led-security-alliances-asia-are-losing-coherence?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 26 Apr 2026 21:30:08 +0000 Maria Siow Maria Siow A landmark warship deal between Australia and Japan is expected to drive further defence technology cooperation between the two Asia-Pacific nations, comparable in scope to Canberra’s security arrangements with Washington. Analysts say the agreement with Tokyo will also help Canberra address navy shortfalls and reduce its overreliance on the US at a time of great volatility. Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles and his Japanese counterpart Shinjiro Koizumi announced on Saturday that the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3351174/australias-us7-billion-japan-warship-deals-signals-shift-us-overreliance?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3351174/australias-us7-billion-japan-warship-deals-signals-shift-us-overreliance?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 Apr 2026 00:00:21 +0000 Sebastian Contin Trillo-Figueroa Sebastian Contin Trillo-Figueroa The United States attacked Iran without consulting its European allies. President Donald Trump assumed the operation would be a quick win, over before anyone had to take a position. Instead, Washington answered a question Western governments had long avoided. After years of pushing Nato towards confrontation with China, would the transatlantic alliance fight a war it had not chosen together? The answer was no. Iran and Taiwan are different cases. One sits on Europe’s wider periphery and carries... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3348047/what-iran-war-reveals-about-natos-appetite-conflict-over-taiwan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3348047/what-iran-war-reveals-about-natos-appetite-conflict-over-taiwan?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 01 Apr 2026 12:30:09 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Three Australian military personnel were on board an American submarine that sank an Iranian navy ship off Sri Lanka this week, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Friday. Speaking to Sky News, Albanese said: “I can confirm that there were three Australian personnel on board that vessel”. The personnel were on board the submarine as part of training arrangements under Aukus, a multidecade defence pact with Britain and the United States, Albanese said. “These are long-standing third country... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3345638/albanese-says-australian-troops-were-board-us-submarine-sank-iranian-ship?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3345638/albanese-says-australian-troops-were-board-us-submarine-sank-iranian-ship?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 06 Mar 2026 01:11:07 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Australia unveiled AU$3.9 billion (US$2.8 billion) in spending on Sunday as a “down payment” on a new facility to build nuclear submarines under the tripartite Aukus security pact with Britain and the United States. The Aukus pact aims to arm Australia with a fleet of cutting-edge submarines from the United States and would provide for cooperation in developing an array of warfare technologies. The submarines, the sale of which will begin in 2032, lie at the heart of Australia’s strategy of... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3343637/australia-unveils-billions-new-nuclear-submarines-under-aukus-security-pact?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3343637/australia-unveils-billions-new-nuclear-submarines-under-aukus-security-pact?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 15 Feb 2026 12:12:22 +0000 Maria Siow Maria Siow Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s call for middle powers to band together amid a fragmenting world order is a vision analysts say appeals to many Asian nations, but lacks a blueprint to bring them all together. Speaking in Switzerland last month, Carney urged mid-sized and smaller countries to unite against the economic coercion of great powers, warning that nations failing to act collectively risked being “on the menu” rather than “at the table”, in a thinly veiled rebuke of the United... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3342400/canada-wants-middle-power-alliance-will-asia-pacific-sign?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3342400/canada-wants-middle-power-alliance-will-asia-pacific-sign?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 05 Feb 2026 01:31:42 +0000 Alyssa Chen Alyssa Chen Beijing has pledged to step in if Canberra commits to regaining control of a strategic port in northern Australia that is leased to a Chinese firm. Chinese ambassador to Australia Xiao Qian said on Wednesday that Beijing “has the obligation to take measures” to protect the legitimate rights of Chinese companies overseas if the port of Darwin were taken back through a forced sale, according to Australian media reports. During last year’s successful re-election campaign, Australian Prime Minister... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3341574/china-will-step-if-australia-moves-regain-control-darwin-port-envoy-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3341574/china-will-step-if-australia-moves-regain-control-darwin-port-envoy-says?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 28 Jan 2026 12:00:39 +0000 Lucy Quaggin,Khushboo Razdan Lucy Quaggin,Khushboo Razdan Australia’s former prime minister and a prominent China scholar, Kevin Rudd, will step down as ambassador to the United States a year ahead of schedule, a move some analysts say underscores a fundamental shift in how Canberra must navigate a Washington increasingly centred on the personal rapport with US President Donald Trump. The resignation follows a period of heightened friction between Rudd and Trump, punctuated by the “America first” leader’s blunt public declaration in October 2025 that... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3339796/not-trump-compatible-china-expert-rudd-exits-australias-us-ambassador-role?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3339796/not-trump-compatible-china-expert-rudd-exits-australias-us-ambassador-role?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 13 Jan 2026 22:28:45 +0000 Maria Siow Maria Siow The decision to keep details of a recent US review into the Aukus defence pact under wraps is seen as a deliberate move to shield the three-nation submarine deal from any doubts over its viability that could undermine political or public backing, analysts say. The Pentagon announced last Thursday it had completed its assessment of the programme and identified ways to place it on the “strongest possible footing”, citing US President Donald Trump’s push to drive the arrangement “full steam... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3336198/why-us-review-aukus-submarine-deal-australia-kept-secret?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3336198/why-us-review-aukus-submarine-deal-australia-kept-secret?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 12 Dec 2025 07:34:43 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth met their Australian counterparts on Monday in Washington for annual talks focused on Indo-Pacific security and countering mainland China’s increasing assertiveness in the region, including in the South China Sea and directed at Taiwan. Rubio, Hegseth, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Defence Minister Richard Marles gathered at the State Department, with many eyes also on the Russia-Ukraine war, a fragile ceasefire in... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3335667/rubio-and-hegseth-discuss-indo-pacific-security-australian-counterparts-washington?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3335667/rubio-and-hegseth-discuss-indo-pacific-security-australian-counterparts-washington?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 08 Dec 2025 20:23:01 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse The Pentagon said on Thursday it has endorsed the tripartite Aukus security pact with the United Kingdom and Australia, which would involve Canberra’s acquisition of at least three Virginia-class nuclear submarines within 15 years. The administration of Donald Trump said earlier this year it was reviewing a 2021 deal for the nuclear-powered attack submarines signed under his presidential predecessor, Joe Biden. The Department of Defence completed its five-month review, which endorsed the Aukus... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3335291/aukus-submarine-deal-move-full-steam-ahead-after-surviving-trump-review?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3335291/aukus-submarine-deal-move-full-steam-ahead-after-surviving-trump-review?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 05 Dec 2025 05:00:10 +0000 Sukjoon Yoon Sukjoon Yoon For US President Donald Trump to consent to South Korea building its own nuclear-powered submarines was unexpected – though a welcome decision for the many South Korean analysts who have long argued such vessels were urgently needed by the country’s navy. It will have a huge impact on the US alliance with South Korea and its neighbours, not least North Korea, which is apparently building its first nuclear ballistic missile submarine with Russian technical support: not just any nuclear-powered... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3332056/devil-details-us-agrees-south-korean-nuclear-powered-sub?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3332056/devil-details-us-agrees-south-korean-nuclear-powered-sub?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 10 Nov 2025 21:30:08 +0000 Orange Wang Orange Wang Australia and Japan could serve as “core” members of potential US-led pre-emptive sanctions to deter Beijing from launching a military attack on Taiwan if Washington considers the threat imminent, according to an influential American think tank. Researchers from the Rand Corporation said that if the United States expected war to break out across the Taiwan Strait “within an ensuing three to six months”, it was possible Washington would put in place economic restraints “pre-emptively in a... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3332235/modelling-taiwan-war-shows-us-could-recruit-australia-japan-sanctions-beijing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3332235/modelling-taiwan-war-shows-us-could-recruit-australia-japan-sanctions-beijing?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 10 Nov 2025 12:02:42 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press The United States will share closely held technology to allow South Korea to build a nuclear-powered submarine, US President Donald Trump said on Thursday after talks with the country’s leader. “I have given them approval to build a Nuclear Powered Submarine, rather than the old fashioned, and far less nimble, diesel powered Submarines that they have now,” he said in a social media. President Lee Jae-myung stressed to Trump in their Wednesday meeting that the goal was to modernise the alliance... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3330830/us-will-share-tech-let-south-korea-build-nuclear-powered-submarine-trump-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3330830/us-will-share-tech-let-south-korea-build-nuclear-powered-submarine-trump-says?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 29 Oct 2025 22:45:59 +0000 Maria Siow Maria Siow Australia has secured backing from US President Donald Trump on two critical fronts through a new minerals investment deal and the future of the Aukus submarine pact, a development that analysts have said represents a major win for Canberra’s geopolitical status and economic security. During Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s visit to the White House on Monday, the two countries signed a critical minerals agreement aimed at reducing their dependency on dominant supplier China and... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3330097/australia-scores-big-win-us-critical-minerals-deal-aukus-commitment?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3330097/australia-scores-big-win-us-critical-minerals-deal-aukus-commitment?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 Oct 2025 00:00:19 +0000 Brian Rhoads,Raymond Ma Brian Rhoads,Raymond Ma US President Donald Trump said that Beijing was unlikely to invade Taiwan, damping down an issue that will probably feature in talks with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping next week. “I think we’ll be just fine with China,” Trump told reporters in the White House alongside Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. “I don’t see anything happening” regarding Taiwan, he said. Trump also said he didn’t think that a US submarine deal with Australia and the UK was necessary as a deterrent, even as... https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3329782/trump-denying-china-risk-may-leave-taiwan-bargaining-chip?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3329782/trump-denying-china-risk-may-leave-taiwan-bargaining-chip?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 21 Oct 2025 09:00:10 +0000 Seong Hyeon Choi Seong Hyeon Choi The Aukus defence technology-sharing pact between the US, Britain and Australia could be made more “sustainable”, according to the Trump administration’s pick for assistant defence secretary for Indo-Pacific security affairs. At his confirmation hearing on Tuesday, John Noh, currently deputy assistant defence secretary for East Asia, said he also “strongly” believed that Taiwan needed to “do its part and pay” by spending more on defence against a possible attack from Beijing. Noh told members of... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3328234/pentagon-nominee-john-noh-hints-aukus-changes-says-taiwan-should-pay-its-way?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3328234/pentagon-nominee-john-noh-hints-aukus-changes-says-taiwan-should-pay-its-way?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 08 Oct 2025 08:59:20 +0000 Maria Siow Maria Siow A sweeping review by the United States of the landmark Aukus submarine pact could usher in stricter conditions on technology transfers, cost-sharing and fresh concessions from Australia, raising questions about the future of the trilateral deal. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had privately assured Australian Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles that the pact would not be terminated, The Washington Post reported earlier this month, citing sources familiar with the discussions. The Aukus... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3326159/aukus-faces-america-first-review-will-trumps-agenda-scupper-deal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3326159/aukus-faces-america-first-review-will-trumps-agenda-scupper-deal?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 21 Sep 2025 00:00:09 +0000 Julian Ryall Julian Ryall The United States is backing Japan’s entry into the Aukus security pact, with analysts calling it a long-overdue move to harness Tokyo’s advanced defence technology and bolster Western military cooperation with a key ally in the Indo-Pacific. Quoting an unpublished US State Department report to Congress, Bloomberg reported on Thursday that Washington had a “positive assessment” of Japan joining the trilateral alliance, which was formed in 2021 between the US, Britain and Australia. Pillar One of... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3326151/why-us-backing-japans-entry-aukus-logical-next-step?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3326151/why-us-backing-japans-entry-aukus-logical-next-step?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 20 Sep 2025 04:00:13 +0000 Nigel Li Nigel Li War is just one press of a button away, and the likelihood of that happening – even if accidental – is not insignificant. The advancement of ballistic missile capabilities has opened up new battle spaces. Just as during the Cold War, today’s adversaries can hold each other’s populations hostage under the threat of nuclear war. As we mark 80 years since the second world war ended, it is becoming easier to fathom our world at war again. However, while it may be true the “long peace” was more an... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3323706/multipolar-arms-race-takes-ballistic-missile-threat-new-levels?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3323706/multipolar-arms-race-takes-ballistic-missile-threat-new-levels?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 31 Aug 2025 12:30:08 +0000 Reuters Reuters An adviser to the Biden administration on the Aukus project to provide Australia with nuclear-powered submarines warned on Monday against its cancellation amid a Pentagon review, but highlighted a wide range of problems that need to be resolved for it to succeed. In a joint paper written with a former State Department official, Abraham Denmark recognised the need for “a thorough review of Aukus by the Trump administration”. But he added: “Should Aukus fail or be scrapped, the United States would... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3323111/biden-adviser-warns-trump-against-scrapping-aukus-pact-australia?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3323111/biden-adviser-warns-trump-against-scrapping-aukus-pact-australia?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 25 Aug 2025 14:58:24 +0000 Maria Siow Maria Siow For decades, both New Zealand and Australia have been “pretty slack” on military spending, Wellington’s defence minister recently conceded in a striking admission that analysts say was aimed as much at Washington as at a sceptical public at home. Judith Collins told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation on August 14 that she sympathised with the United States’ demands for its allies to share more of the defence burden, adding in an interview in Wellington that American taxpayers had carried... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3322851/new-zealand-seeks-shed-its-pretty-slack-defence-image-will-it-placate-trump?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3322851/new-zealand-seeks-shed-its-pretty-slack-defence-image-will-it-placate-trump?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 24 Aug 2025 02:30:08 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Australia would be upgrading its navy with 11 Mogami-class frigates built by Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Defence Minister Richard Marles said on Tuesday. Billed as Japan’s biggest defence export deal since World War II, Australia will pay A$10 billion (US$6 billion) over the next 10 years to acquire the fleet of stealth frigates. Australia is in the midst of a major military restructure, bolstering its navy with long-range firepower in an effort to deter China. It is striving to expand... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3320747/japan-wins-us6-billion-deal-give-australia-more-lethal-navy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3320747/japan-wins-us6-billion-deal-give-australia-more-lethal-navy?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 05 Aug 2025 01:17:10 +0000 Junjie Wang Junjie Wang – https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3319412/defence-spending-asia?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3319412/defence-spending-asia?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 24 Jul 2025 07:52:39 +0000 Reuters Reuters Australia has paid the United States A$800 million (US$525 million) in the second instalment under the Aukus nuclear submarine deal, despite an ongoing formal review of the agreement by US President Donald Trump’s administration. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed the latest instalment on Wednesday, following an initial US$500 million paid in February. In 2023, the United States, Australia and Britain unveiled details of a plan to provide Australia with nuclear-powered attack submarines... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3319283/australias-us525-million-aukus-payment-proceeds-amid-trump-review-submarine-pact?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3319283/australias-us525-million-aukus-payment-proceeds-amid-trump-review-submarine-pact?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 23 Jul 2025 09:10:32 +0000 Laura Zhou Laura Zhou A month after US President Donald Trump cancelled talks with Anthony Albanese, China rolled out the red carpet for the Australian leader this week. In Beijing, he had a two-hour meeting with President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People. Albanese’s fiancee, Jodie Haydon, joined the lunch that followed. He held separate talks with Premier Li Qiang, and they co-chaired a CEO round table attended by nearly 30 Chinese and Australian business executives. At the banquet hosted by Li that... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3318724/albaneses-china-trip-shows-stiffening-canberras-spine-face-us-pressure?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3318724/albaneses-china-trip-shows-stiffening-canberras-spine-face-us-pressure?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 18 Jul 2025 22:00:11 +0000 Sohail Akhtar Sohail Akhtar The significance of Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s six-day visit to China cannot be overstated. It was not only his first visit to China after his re-election, but also the fourth meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Bilateral ties had previously been marred by bitter trade disputes and mutual recriminations, which have improved since Albanese took office in 2022. While Albanese’s visit was a continuation of his efforts to strengthen ties with China and secure economic gains,... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3318603/australia-should-continue-engaging-china-its-own-terms?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3318603/australia-should-continue-engaging-china-its-own-terms?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 18 Jul 2025 12:30:08 +0000 Huw Watkin Huw Watkin For much of its history, Australia’s identity has been defined by distance – geographical, political, psychological. Now, with global tensions rising, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is testing whether that distance might yet be a source of strength. The answer, he seems to believe, lies in recalibrating Australia’s relationships with friends and rivals alike. As both critics from the political left and independent observers assail the cost and risks of Aukus – and the right demands ever-greater... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3317927/us-china-tug-war-australia-puts-itself-first?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3317927/us-china-tug-war-australia-puts-itself-first?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 12 Jul 2025 00:00:12 +0000 Genevieve Donnellon-May Genevieve Donnellon-May Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s coming visit to China later this summer presents a timely chance to reframe Australia–China relations through an increasingly vital lens: climate cooperation. With bilateral ties having largely stabilised since 2022 and a joint Australia–Pacific bid for the 2026 UN climate summit under way, climate action offers a promising platform for stronger engagement. The rationale for cooperation is clear. Australia possesses vast reserves of critical minerals... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3316466/climate-action-china-aligns-australias-security-needs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3316466/climate-action-china-aligns-australias-security-needs?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 03 Jul 2025 12:30:08 +0000 Mark Magnier Mark Magnier As the world watched anxiously to see whether the Middle East would descend into wider war and the US actively joined Israel against Iran, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth sidestepped direct questions before Congress on Wednesday and otherwise declined to shed insights into the administration’s plans. The Pentagon chief told the powerful Senate Armed Services Committee that the final decision on what course America would take was in the hands of US President Donald Trump, describing his own role... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3314984/will-us-actively-join-israel-against-iran-pentagon-chief-sidesteps-senate-questions?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3314984/will-us-actively-join-israel-against-iran-pentagon-chief-sidesteps-senate-questions?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Jun 2025 22:45:34 +0000 Adam Bartley Adam Bartley The flagship project of Australia’s future maritime defence architecture, Aukus, has been placed under review in Washington. For some time, muted speculation about the status of Aukus Pillar I, an A$368 billion (US$238.5 billion) deal between Canberra, Washington and London to help Australia acquire nuclear-powered submarines (SSNs), has been circulating among analysts and policymakers in Australia amid the upheaval of the Trump administration. In Canberra, the government has maintained an... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3314578/aukus-submarine-deal-dead-water-under-trump?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3314578/aukus-submarine-deal-dead-water-under-trump?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Jun 2025 21:30:08 +0000 Gareth Evans Gareth Evans The Aukus partnership, the 2021 deal whereby the United States and the United Kingdom agreed to provide Australia with at least eight nuclear-propelled submarines over the next three decades, has come under review by the US Defence Department. The prospect of its collapse has generated predictable hand-wringing among those who welcomed the deepening alliance, and especially among those interested in seeing Australia inject billions of dollars into underfunded, underperforming American and... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3314693/why-australia-should-welcome-collapse-lopsided-aukus-deal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3314693/why-australia-should-welcome-collapse-lopsided-aukus-deal?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 17 Jun 2025 08:30:07 +0000 Meredith Chen,Seong Hyeon Choi Meredith Chen,Seong Hyeon Choi The United States may be rethinking its Indo-Pacific strategy with its review of the Aukus security agreement, but its focus on countering China is unlikely to change, according to analysts. The pact with Australia and the United Kingdom has been thrown into doubt with the Pentagon’s announcement this week that it is reviewing the US’ role in the Biden-era agreement to supply nuclear-powered submarines to Australia. Some observers suggested that this could be cause for celebration in Beijing,... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3314397/aukus-pact-air-us-stay-focused-china-analysts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3314397/aukus-pact-air-us-stay-focused-china-analysts?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 14 Jun 2025 01:00:14 +0000 Bochen Han Bochen Han US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth told Congress on Thursday he would involve lawmakers in a 30-day assessment of the Aukus alliance, a day after the future of the three-country security pact was thrown into question by reports that the Pentagon was putting it under review. “Congress will be involved,” Hegseth said in response to a question from US congressman Joe Courtney, a Connecticut Democrat, who also raised concern about the time frame allocated for analysing the pact between Australia,... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3314223/pentagon-chief-assures-lawmakers-review-us-britain-australia-pact-china-looms?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3314223/pentagon-chief-assures-lawmakers-review-us-britain-australia-pact-china-looms?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 12 Jun 2025 22:04:02 +0000 Brian Rhoads,Raymond Ma Brian Rhoads,Raymond Ma The Trump administration has started a review of Joe Biden’s Aukus nuclear submarine deal with Australia, just as China flexes its muscles by sending two aircraft carriers on an unprecedented deployment in the Pacific. “We are reviewing Aukus as part of ensuring that this initiative of the previous administration is aligned with the president’s America First agenda,” a US official said of the review, which was first reported by the Financial Times. China has criticised the 2021 Aukus accord,... https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3314152/trump-puts-submarine-pact-rough-waters-china-touts-strength?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3314152/trump-puts-submarine-pact-rough-waters-china-touts-strength?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 12 Jun 2025 09:00:34 +0000 Reuters Reuters Australia’s Defence Minister Richard Marles said on Thursday he was confident the Aukus submarine pact with the US and Britain would proceed, and his government would work closely with the US while the Trump administration conducted a formal review. Australia in 2023 committed to spend A$368 billion (US$239 billion) over three decades on Aukus, the country’s biggest-ever defence project with the United States and Britain, to acquire and build nuclear-powered submarines. A Pentagon official said... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3314098/australia-confident-trump-wont-sink-aukus-submarine-deal-after-review?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3314098/australia-confident-trump-wont-sink-aukus-submarine-deal-after-review?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 12 Jun 2025 03:33:54 +0000 Reuters Reuters US President Donald Trump’s administration has launched a formal review of a defence pact worth hundreds of billions of dollars that his predecessor Joe Biden made with Australia and the United Kingdom, allowing Australia to acquire conventionally armed nuclear submarines, a US defence official said. The formal Pentagon-led review is likely to alarm Australia, which sees the submarines as critical to its own defence as tensions grow over China’s expansive military build-up. It could also throw a... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3314082/trump-admin-launches-review-aukus-submarine-pact-australia-and-uk?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3314082/trump-admin-launches-review-aukus-submarine-pact-australia-and-uk?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Jun 2025 20:38:15 +0000 Huw Watkin Huw Watkin Since the end of World War II, Australia has repeatedly revised its defence strategy in anticipation of evolving threats. For more than 15 years, China’s rise has been viewed with growing trepidation, and since 2020, Australians have been warned they face their most precarious strategic outlook for nearly a century. Yet despite the warnings and numerous white papers, observers say Australia remains alarmingly underprepared for conflict, with the country’s political class often criticised as more... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3313352/cannibalised-aukus-australia-sacrificing-defence-future-submarines?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3313352/cannibalised-aukus-australia-sacrificing-defence-future-submarines?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 08 Jun 2025 04:00:09 +0000 Maria Siow Maria Siow Australia is expected to lean towards boosting security and economic ties with Southeast Asia, even as its incumbent leader emerges from the recently concluded election with a strong mandate that would see Canberra continue its close alliance with the United States. Over the weekend, Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese secured a second term in office, as voters chose stability over change against a backdrop of global turmoil inflicted by US President Donald Trump. Albanese’s victory... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3309812/no-radical-changes-australia-albanese-looks-shore-alliances?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3309812/no-radical-changes-australia-albanese-looks-shore-alliances?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 10 May 2025 01:30:16 +0000 Reuters Reuters Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Monday he had a “warm conversation” with US President Donald Trump on tariffs and the Aukus defence pact after his centre-left Labor party decisively beat the conservatives in a weekend election. Albanese was returned to office for a second term in a stunning comeback against the conservative Liberal-National coalition, which was ahead in polls as recently as February. “I had a warm and positive conversation with President Trump … and I thank... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3309061/australias-albanese-has-warm-conversation-trump-aukus-and-tariffs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3309061/australias-albanese-has-warm-conversation-trump-aukus-and-tariffs?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 05 May 2025 03:29:14 +0000 Australia’s prime minister said on Sunday he trusts US President Donald Trump to support the two countries’ defence relationship despite their “different values” on trade, in a final television debate before May 3 elections. The high cost of living is the biggest concern of voters, according to opinion polls, but the US imposition of 10 per cent trade tariffs on long-time ally Australia has elbowed its way into a tight election battle. Asked if he trusted Trump to have Australia’s back on... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3308117/australias-albanese-says-he-trusts-trump-us-defence-ties?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3308117/australias-albanese-says-he-trusts-trump-us-defence-ties?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 27 Apr 2025 15:07:08 +0000 Nearly 100 days in, Donald Trump’s second term as US president has been defined by his determination to upend the established order on nearly all fronts of domestic and foreign policy. In the second of this series, we look at the extent to which the president’s actions have unravelled and possibly broken relations with Washington’s closest allies. As former US president Joe Biden’s administration wound down in January, China faced more pressure on multiple fronts – diplomatic, economic and... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3307657/donald-trumps-tariffs-hit-us-allies-hard-will-china-make-inroads?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3307657/donald-trumps-tariffs-hit-us-allies-hard-will-china-make-inroads?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 23 Apr 2025 15:11:06 +0000 New US tariffs on steel and aluminium could delay delivery and increase the cost of nuclear submarines promised to Australia under the Aukus pact, with analysts warning of rising scepticism about the trilateral defence deal. The assessment came after senior US Senator Tim Kaine reportedly told an Aukus gathering in Washington last week that submarine construction was facing budget and schedule setbacks. Kaine, the top Democrat on the Senate’s sea-power subcommittee, said about one-third of the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3307109/will-us-tariffs-sink-australias-aukus-submarine-delivery-goals?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3307109/will-us-tariffs-sink-australias-aukus-submarine-delivery-goals?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 20 Apr 2025 00:00:09 +0000 On March 28, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced that Australia would head to the polls for a federal election in May. The long-awaited announcement set the stage for a closely contested race between his centre-left Labour Party and the conservative Liberal Party. But as the political battle lines were drawn, an unexpected development was unfolding offshore. A Chinese research vessel was spotted off the south coast of Australia. Strategic analysts raised alarm, while tabloid media stoked... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3306715/trumps-tariffs-sound-death-knell-us-australia-alliance?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3306715/trumps-tariffs-sound-death-knell-us-australia-alliance?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 17 Apr 2025 21:30:08 +0000 The global military-industrial complex is tightening its grip on geopolitics. China is feeling this shift as its leaders and geopolitical rivals pursue economic security to strengthen defence-critical industries while amassing forces to challenge old rules of engagement and long-established spheres of influence. These realities reflect a world engulfed in warfare. More than 110 armed conflicts are under way. Varying widely in scale, some are recent events while others began some 50 years ago,... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3305797/how-chinas-military-industrial-complex-reshaping-geopolitics?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3305797/how-chinas-military-industrial-complex-reshaping-geopolitics?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 13 Apr 2025 21:30:08 +0000 US President Donald Trump’s global tariffs predominated at two congressional hearings on Wednesday as several Democratic lawmakers voiced fears that the sweeping measures would strain alliances as China remained a prime target. In testimony before the House Armed Services Committee, officials from the Pentagon and the US Army largely sidestepped questions about the tariffs’ fallout, but pledged to deepen cooperation with Indo-Pacific partners – particularly Taiwan – to counter Beijing’s rising... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3305909/trumps-tariffs-and-china-targeting-focus-house-lawmakers-fret-over-alliances?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3305909/trumps-tariffs-and-china-targeting-focus-house-lawmakers-fret-over-alliances?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 09 Apr 2025 22:52:34 +0000 Australia’s navy has long played a crucial role in the defence of the island continent, whose 34,000km (21,000-mile) coastline is surrounded by the vast Pacific, Southern and Indian oceans and separated from Asia by a narrow strip of water. But as the threat of conflict in the Asia-Pacific grows, the navy is confronting a 10-year capability gap. With an ageing fleet and dwindling firepower, it has become the focus of an increasingly acrimonious debate about how urgently Australia must prepare... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3305273/sinking-feeling-australias-navy-ready-pacific-conflict?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3305273/sinking-feeling-australias-navy-ready-pacific-conflict?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 06 Apr 2025 00:00:08 +0000 Despite the Donald Trump administration’s unconventional foreign policy in his second term, Sun Yun – the director of the Stimson Centre’s China programme – recently argued that it is unlikely to have any ramifications for the United States’ military presence in the Indo-Pacific. Given that Trump is eager to boost US power projection capabilities with the desired acquisition of Greenland, it is unfathomable that it would seek to change its current position in the Indo-Pacific. However, the Trump... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3303737/how-trump-may-inadvertently-calm-waters-indo-pacific?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3303737/how-trump-may-inadvertently-calm-waters-indo-pacific?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 27 Mar 2025 21:30:08 +0000 Australia’s army has received its first delivery of a “game changer” mobile long-range US rocket system, as the country brings forward defence spending to boost its military capability, including guided weapons manufacture, an Aukus submarine base and a frigate programme. Australia and other security allies of the United States are under pressure from US President Donald Trump to increase defence spending. Defence Minister Richard Marles said that Tuesday’s federal budget would contain an... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3303712/us-missiles-give-australia-tenfold-strike-increase-amid-defence-spending-boost?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3303712/us-missiles-give-australia-tenfold-strike-increase-amid-defence-spending-boost?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 25 Mar 2025 01:47:30 +0000