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Although Japan has in recent months hinted it would aid in any Taiwanese defense against China, it would only help defend the island from Chinese attack if called on by the U.S. or if the conflict affected outlying islands under Japanese control, analysts say.

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Speaking to the BBC, UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said China was "embarking on one of the biggest military spends in history".

"It is growing its navy [and] air force at a huge rate. Obviously it is engaged in some disputed areas," he said. "Our partners in those regions want to be able to stand their own ground."

In recent years, Beijing has been accused of raising tensions in disputed territories such as the South China Sea.

On Thursday, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the pact would "preserve security and stability around the world" and generate "hundreds of high-skilled jobs".

He also said the relationship with France was "rock solid".

The Aukus alliance is probably the most significant security arrangement between the three nations since World War Two, analysts say.

The pact will focus on military capability, separating it from the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing alliance which also includes New Zealand and Canada.

While Australia's submarines is the big-ticket item, Aukus will also involve the sharing of cyber capabilities and other undersea technologies.

"This is an historic opportunity for the three nations, with like-minded allies and partners, to protect shared values and promote security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region," the joint statement read.

"This really shows that all three nations are drawing a line in the sand to start and counter [China's] aggressive moves in the Indo-Pacific," said Guy Boekenstein from the Asia Society Australia.

Western nations have been wary of China's infrastructure investment on Pacific islands, and have also criticised China's trade sanctions against countries like Australia.

Australia had in the past maintained good relations with China, its biggest trading partner. But the relationship has broken down in recent years amid political tensions.

But there is tension now too with France, after Australia tore up the A$50bn (€31bn; £27bn) deal to build 12 submarines.

"We had established a relationship of trust with Australia, this trust has been betrayed," Mr Le Drian said.
Why nuclear-powered submarines?

These submarines are much faster and harder to detect than conventionally powered fleets. They can stay submerged for months, shoot missiles longer distances and also carry more.

Having them stationed in Australia is critical to US influence in the region, analysts say.

The US is sharing its submarine technology for the first time in 50 years. It had previously only shared technology with the UK.

Australia will become just the seventh nation in the world to operate nuclear-powered submarines, after the US, UK, France, China, India and Russia.

Australia has reaffirmed it has no intention of obtaining nuclear weapons.

Meanwhile New Zealand said it would ban Australia's submarines from its waters, in line with an existing policy on the presence of nuclear-powered submarines.

New Zealand, although a Five Eyes member, has been more cautious in aligning with either the US or China in the Pacific.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said her nation had not been approached to join the pact.

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If readers are curious why Australia would simultaneously subvert its own economic interests by turning against its primary trading partner and its own security interests by feeding into dangerous and unnecessary provocations, I will refer them once again to the jarringly honest explanation by American political analyst John Mearsheimer at a debate hosted by the Australian think tank Center for Independent Studies in 2019. Mearsheimer told his audience that the US is going to do everything it can to halt China’s rise and prevent it from becoming the regional hegemon in the East, and that Australia should align with the US in that battle or else it would face the wrath of Washington.
“The question that’s on the table is what should Australia’s foreign policy be in light of the rise of China,” Mearsheimer said. “I’ll tell you what I would suggest if I were an Australian.”
Mearsheimer claimed that China is going to continue to grow economically and will convert this economic power into military power to dominate Asia “the way the US dominates the Western Hemisphere”, and explained why he thinks the US and its allies have every ability to prevent that from happening.
“Now the question is what does this all mean for Australia?” Mearsheimer said. “Well, you’re in a quandary for sure. Everybody knows what the quandary is. And by the way you’re not the only country in East Asia that’s in this quandary. You trade a lot with China, and that trade is very important for your prosperity, no question about that. Security-wise you really want to go with us. It makes just a lot more sense, right? And you understand that security is more important than prosperity, because if you don’t survive, you’re not gonna prosper.”
“Now some people say there’s an alternative: you can go with China,” said Mearsheimer. “Right you have a choice here: you can go with China rather the United States. There’s two things I’ll say about that. Number one, if you go with China you want to understand you are our enemy. You are then deciding to become an enemy of the United States. Because again, we’re talking about an intense security competition.”
“You’re either with us or against us,” he continued. “And if you’re trading extensively with China, and you’re friendly with China, you’re undermining the United States in this security competition. You’re feeding the beast, from our perspective. And that is not going to make us happy. And when we are not happy you do not want to underestimate how nasty we can be. Just ask Fidel Castro.”
Nervous laughter from the Australian think tank audience punctuated Mearsheimer’s more incendiary observations. The CIA is known to have made numerous attempts to assassinate Castro.
So there you have it. Australia is not aligned with the US to protect itself from China. Australia is aligned with the US to protect itself from the US.

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Originally posted by SIGNYM:

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So there you have it. Australia is not aligned with the US to protect itself from China. Australia is aligned with the US to protect itself from the US.

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https://press.1001solutions.net/2021/09/17/australia-joins-military-pa
ct-with-us-and-uk-for-the-coordination-of-escalation-vs-china/

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Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

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