Australia and UK announce trade agreement 0:48
(CNN) -
President Joe Biden on Wednesday unveiled a new effort to help Australia acquire nuclear submarines, an important step in countering China's influence as he works to gain international support for his approach to Beijing.
The announcement came as part of a new trilateral partnership between the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom that the leaders of the three countries jointly revealed on Wednesday afternoon.
"The United States, Australia and the United Kingdom have long been loyal and capable partners and today we are even closer," said the president.
"Today we are taking another historic step to deepen and formalize cooperation between our three nations, because we all recognize the imperative of ensuring long-term peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific."
The partnership kicks off what is expected to be a wave of diplomatic engagements for Biden this fall, from next week's United Nations meetings to a summit of Asian leaders at the White House and the Group of 20 talks. in October in Italy.
Underlying his efforts is the desire to unite the West and America's partners in Asia in the battle between "autocracy and democracy," one of the defining goals of his presidency.
Biden has made the fight against China a central aspect of his foreign policy, as tensions rise around the South China Sea and Taiwan, and has said he wants American allies to join in.
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The new partnership between the US, the UK and Australia, three English-speaking maritime democracies, does not refer specifically to China, officials insisted before the announcement. Instead, they said the three countries would hold a schedule of meetings in the coming months to coordinate on cyber issues, advanced technologies and defense, in an attempt to better respond to current security challenges. The new association is called AUKUS.
The announcement, however, is focused on establishing Australia's nuclear submarine capability, which officials say will allow the country to operate at a much higher military level.
Nuclear submarines are capable of maneuvering at greater speed and endurance, and more stealthily, than conventional ones, which must surface more frequently.
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"This allows Australia to play at a much higher level and increase American capabilities," a senior administration official said before the announcement.
"It is about maintaining peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific."
Biden, during Wednesday's announcement, also argued that the creation of AUKUS is necessary because "we have to be able to address both the current strategic environment in the region and its possible evolution."
"Because the future of each of our nations, and indeed of the world, depends on a free and open Indo-Pacific that will endure and flourish for decades to come. It is about investing in our greatest strength, our alliances, and to update them to better face the threats of today and tomorrow, "added the president.
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"This technology is extremely sensitive"
Senior Australian officials met with their counterparts in Washington, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, ahead of the official announcement.
During remarks Wednesday night, Biden announced that Austin would lead the US government's efforts in close collaboration with the State Department and the Department of Energy.
US officials said details of the new partnership had been kept under wraps as it unfolded in recent weeks and months, but that other government allies and stakeholders would be informed of the details in the coming days.
The US and UK plan to dispatch strategic and technical teams to identify the best route for Australia to acquire nuclear submarines in the next 18 months.
It was unclear what the new plan means for Australia's $ 90 billion deal with France to acquire conventional submarines.
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US officials described the effort to help the country with nuclear propulsion as an extremely rare step between allies, undertaken only once previously, which in a way goes against established US practice.
"This technology is extremely sensitive. It is, frankly, an exception to our policy in many respects," the official said.
It was necessary, they said, to send a message of reassurance to the countries of Asia.
It comes amid rising tensions between the United States and China, which are maneuvering to limit the other's global influence.
US officials also insisted that the intention of the new association was not to challenge China specifically.
"This partnership does not aim or focus on any country, but rather it is about promoting our strategic interests, upholding the rules-based international order and promoting peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific," the official said.
Unite the allies against China
However, the announcement is the latest step by the United States to counter China's military and technological rise.
Next week, Biden will host an in-person summit of the QUAD association of Japan, Australia and India, another grouping seen as a way to cement America's leadership in Asia.
He has also tried to involve other Asian leaders, with Vice President Kamala Harris visiting Singapore and Vietnam late last month.
Last week, Biden had a 90-minute phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping, his first direct communication in seven months.
Officials described the conversation as "familiar" and "heartfelt" but said Biden did not directly raise the new strategic partnership with Australia and the United Kingdom.
Biden on Tuesday denied reports that Xi, in his phone call, declined an invitation to meet in person. US officials say they still hope to arrange an in-person meeting between the two leaders, but are not sure it will take place on the sidelines of the G20 at the end of October. This is mainly because Xi has not confirmed his presence in person for the summit, which will be held in Rome. Xi has not left China in about 600 days, since before the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
Xi may participate in the summit virtually, and US officials are not ruling out a virtual meeting between Biden and Xi.
Biden, however, has said that sitting in person with foreign leaders is preferable to holding virtual meetings or phone calls, and has privately told his advisers that he doesn't think that much can be accomplished when they meet remotely.
Proof of commitment
After a chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan that led to questions about Biden's willingness to continue engaging abroad, officials said the new announcement should serve as proof of the president's continued willingness to stand with the allies and maintain an order based on rules in Asia.
"In recent years, questions have been raised: Does the United States still have the stomach, do we have the wit and the wisdom, do we want to continue to play that role?" Said a senior administration official.
"What President Biden is saying with this initiative is 'count on us.' We are all in favor of a deeper and more sustained engagement with the Indo-Pacific. And we recognize that one of our critical roles is, indeed, maintenance of peace and stability there, "continued the official.
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The UK also hopes to play a bigger role in Asia, which under Prime Minister Boris Johnson has sought to pursue a "Global Britain" strategy to increase its engagement abroad.
This effort has been hampered at times, especially as Johnson works to contain the Covid-19 pandemic in his country and to protect his country from the economic fallout of Brexit.
However, US officials have received indications from their British counterparts that the UK hopes to "substantially intensify its influence in the Indo-Pacific", and believe that the new partnership with Australia can help advance that goal. .
Before the announcement, Johnson carried out a major reshuffle of his cabinet ministers, including the reassignment of his foreign secretary.
The shakeup does not appear to be directly related to his subsequent announcement with Biden and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
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US officials said that cooperation between the three countries was limited solely to nuclear propulsion, and stated that Australia has no intention of pursuing nuclear weapons.
During his remarks on Wednesday, Biden stressed that the AUKUS submarine project would use submarines with conventional weapons, not with nuclear weapons.
"We are not talking about submarines with nuclear weapons. These are submarines with conventional weapons that work with nuclear reactors," Biden said.
"This technology is proven, it is safe, and the United States and the United Kingdom have been operating nuclear powered submarines for decades."
Australia Joe Biden Nuclear Submarine
