AUKUS Security Partnership

AUKUS Security Partnership- Relevance for UPSC Exam

GS Paper 2: International Relations- Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests.

Recently, the USA government has announced a new trilateral security partnership for the Indo-Pacific, between Australia, the U.K. and the U.S. (AUKUS).
As part of this, Australia will acquire nuclear-powered submarines with help from the U.K. and the U.S.

About AUKUS: It is a trilateral Security Alliance of the USA, UK and Australia which will focus on advancing strategic interests in the Indo-Pacific region.
- The USA denied the allegation that it is forming this security alliance in order to contain and counter Chine’s growing influence and aggression in the Indo-Pacific Region, especially in the South China Sea.
Official Mandate: Grouping said that the ‘AUKUS’ partnership will work to protect our people and support a peaceful and rules-based international order.
- AUKUS will foster deeper integration of security and defense-related science, technology, industrial bases, and supply chains.
Nuclear-powered submarines to Australia: The AUKUS grouping has decided to share Nuclear Submarine Technology with Australia in the coming future with an aim to enhance the nuclear capability of Australia in the Indo-Pacific region.
- The only prior instance when the USA shared its nuclear submarine defense submarine technology with a country is Great Britain in 1958.
- This makes it a very significant step in terms of upping the ante in the Indo-Pacific region.
- With this, now Australia is all set to join an elite group of only six countries – India, the US, the UK, France, Russia and China – that operate nuclear-powered submarines.

Strengthening Five Eye Alliance: The agreement reflects the unique level of trust and cooperation between the three countries, which already share extensive intelligence through the Five Eyes alliance.
- Five Eyes Alliance: It is an intelligence-sharing arrangement between five English-speaking democracies: the US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
  - The alliance was formed in the backdrop of the cold war and is considered the world’s most successful intelligence alliance.
Countering Chinese Aggression: The AUKUS grouping will complement the existing QUAD grouping in countering the increasing influence and aggression of China in the Indo-Pacific region.
- Quad is a grouping of India, the USA, Australia, and Japan.