On September 16, BBC World News interviewed Matthew Kroenig about the new AUKUS security partnership between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Kroenig argued that the partnership is important for deterring or defending against a Chinese attack in the Indo-Pacific. He also noted that AUKUS signals that democracies can work together to address the China challenge.
The China threat is really growing, the balance of power is shifting in Asia, and there are real questions about whether the United States and its allies can still defend longstanding partners like Taiwan. So we need to shore up deterrence and defense in the region, and these nuclear-powered submarines will increase our ability to do just that: to defend against a Chinese attack if it were to take place and, hopefully, to deter it before it takes place. But it’s also important because of what it shows at the strategic level of leading democracies in Europe North America, and the Indo Pacific seeing the China challenge and working together closely to address it.
