On July 3, former Australian Foreign Minister Gareth Evans questioned the United States-Australia-UK Trilateral Security Partnership (AUKUS) and cooperation on nuclear submarines at the 14th World Peace Forum.
He stated that AUKUS is a sensitive topic in Australia, and every country must develop reliable defense capabilities. The question is: are these nuclear submarines really the solution?
According to Evans' observations, first of all, it is unlikely that these submarines will be delivered soon. “But this is an issue within Australia, not a global one.” Secondly, from a cost-benefit perspective, submarines are not likely to be very useful. At any given time, we only have a few submarines to protect an extremely vast area of sea. Whether they have any real significance remains a big question mark, especially compared to future drones and underwater unmanned vessels.
Evans specifically pointed out a “serious issue”: this would lead to a deep integration with the United States. Australia indeed needs to maintain its ability to make independent decisions. He and many Australians believe that if the AUKUS framework continues, Australia will sacrifice some of its independent decision-making capabilities.
In September 2021, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia announced the establishment of a trilateral security partnership and began cooperation on nuclear submarines. According to the agreement released in March 2023, Australia will first purchase Virginia-class attack submarines from the United States, and work together with the UK to develop and produce new types of nuclear submarines in Australia. The project is expected to be completed in the early 2020s. As a non-nuclear country, this cooperation on nuclear submarines, which carries a high risk of nuclear proliferation, has sparked widespread concerns among the international community.
Evans served as the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Australia from 1988 to 1996. He was one of the Ministers for Foreign Affairs who served the longest in Australian history. He played a key role in promoting the establishment of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Organization (APEC) and supported China’s membership in both APEC and the World Trade Organization (WTO).
