Aukus upends Australia’s US-China balancing act as Canberra cements ‘its American course’

Analysts and former diplomats say the pact is set to deepen Australia’s alignment with Washington as it reverts ‘to a mindset from the past’

Some see a clear choice in Canberra aligning itself with ‘the US and the Anglosphere’ – or is it all about the ‘shared purpose’ of maintaining peace?

Reading Time:6 minutes

A US Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarine of the type that the US has agreed to sell to Australia under the Aukus pact. Photo: US Navy Handout via Reuters

Published: 8:32am, 19 Mar 2023Updated: 7:48pm, 21 Mar 2023

After years of being seen as the United States’ regional “deputy”, Australia has in recent months tried to shed that reputation – spurring much excitement that bilateral relations with China were finally on the mend, and that Canberra would pivot back to furthering regional engagement.

This is thanks largely to the foreign policy initiatives of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s Labor government, which took power last May.

Penny Wong, Albanese’s Malaysia-born foreign minister, has tirelessly toured the region since taking office in a bid to shore up relations and win over doubters, with her visit to Beijing in December to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties evidence of Canberra treading the fine line of US-China rivalry.

But Aukus, the implicitly anti-China trilateral security pact with extra-regional powers Britain and the US that aims to furnish Australia with nuclear-powered submarines over the coming decades, has raised doubts among foreign relations experts about whether Canberra can pull off its attempted balancing act.

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong speaks to the media following a meeting with her Chinese counterpart in Beijing in December. Photo: EPA-EFE

Not helping matters was a warmongering series of alarmist articles sounding “Red Alert” about a looming Chinese military invasion that ran in the Australian press this week, which critics blasted as a piece of heavy-handed political theatre staged to win support for future defence budget increases and the alliance with the US, while distracting the public from domestic concerns like the rising cost of living.

Indeed, many experts who spoke to This Week in Asia said that Aukus had reinforced Australia’s historical preference for alignment with the US and former colonial master Britain.

Select Voice

Choose your listening speed

Get through articles 2x faster

1.25x

250 WPM

Slow

Average

Fast

00:0000:00

1.25x