The White House is open to including additional countries in the AUKUS agreement, if they too can contribute to sharing technology knowledge. Kurt Campbell, US National Security Council coordinator for the Indo-Pacific He said at an official event on Monday that several countries were interested in joining. That, he says, is a relief, and the White House is not shying away from expansion.
The AUKUS agreement was announced in September 2021 by Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. The first pillar of the Tripartite Agreement is that the British and Americans will help Australia acquire nuclear submarines. At least eight nuclear-powered attack submarines are expected to arrive in the island nation by 2040.
the agreement Part two We are talking about the sharing of key technologies between states, and this primarily means the deployment of hypersonic weapons, cruise missiles and precision missiles.
New Zealand, South Korea and France are also interested in increasing vital defense capabilities.
Campbell said that a real contribution is expected from the joining countries, through which each party can achieve significant technological progress.
The agreement has been repeatedly criticized by China, according to the Beijing leadership, the initiative is primarily against them. Chinese President Xi Jinping has spoken out against it on several occasions. In particular, he highlighted the part where he believed Australia could obtain military-grade uranium. Australia is not a nuclear power. Any further expansion would dramatically increase the amount of military cooperation against Beijing. The Taiwan issue lies at the heart of the current security dilemmas.
Photo credit: POIS Yuri Ramsey/Australian Defense Force via Getty Images