On March 13, standing alongside the Prime Ministers of Australia and the United Kingdom, President Joe Biden announced a major development of the 2021 trilateral security pact known as AUKUS.
As Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security Bonnie Jenkins explained in a recent interview, “AUKUS is a partnership between the U.S, the United Kingdom and Australia, and one of the fundamental aspects of this partnership is to strengthen the peace and security in the [Indo-]Pacific region.”
“The first pillar is the U.S. and U.K. helping to provide Australia with a nuclear-powered submarine,” she said. “The second pillar is to work with the other countries in terms of trying to promote advanced technologies, and these include everything from artificial intelligence and autonomy, underwater sea capabilities, advanced cyber [capabilities], quantum capabilities, hypersonic and counter-hypersonic capabilities, as well as electronic warfare.”
Under Secretary Jenkins noted that nuclear powered submarines have been in the Pacific Ocean for decades:
“The U.S. and the U.K have had nuclear powered submarines for over 60 years…There are other countries that have used nuclear powered submarines, including the People’s Republic of China, Russia, India, and France, as well.”
Under Secretary Jenkins emphasized that while the vessels are nuclear powered “these submarines are conventionally armed.”
"All three partners to this agreement to AUKUS are members and states parties to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty,” she said. "Australia is a non-nuclear weapons state. It is committed to staying a non-nuclear weapons state. . .They will not be developing nuclear weapons.”
In fact, from the first announcement of the AUKUS partnership, said Under Secretary Jenkins, President Biden has made clear that nuclear non-proliferation is a top priority.
All three partners have been traveling to Vienna regularly to meet with the IAEA to ensure that AUKUS is meeting partners’ obligations under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and setting the highest nonproliferation standards.
Under Secretary Jenkins underscored that “the 21st century is really going to be defined by the Indo-Pacific.”
“And so it’s really important right now that we modernize our alliances with partners in the region ... to really ensure that the future is strengthened in terms of peace and security issues,” she said.
“We also see this as an opportunity,” said Under Secretary Jenkins, “for scientists and those in industry, as well as sailors, to all work together and develop their [common] capabilities and technology that promotes the goal.”
