KUALA LUMPUR – The trilateral security partnership involving Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States, also known as Aukus, is aimed towards maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific, said UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss.
Truss, who was in Malaysia earlier this week, said Aukus is important, in addition to other security agreements that the UK has with other countries, including the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and the Five Power Defence Agreements (FPDA).
Aukus, announced by US President Joe Biden on September 15, will allow for, among other things, greater sharing of defence capabilities, and help equip Australia with nuclear-powered submarines.
Initial efforts of the partnership will also focus on cooperation on cyber capabilities, artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, and undersea capabilities. Many observers see the new security pact as aimed at countering China’s rising presence in the Indo-Pacific region.
“This is about working with our friends and partners across the world to maintain a free and open Indo-Pacific and protect our security,” Truss said in an interview during her visit here on Monday.
The UK foreign secretary is on her maiden week-long working tour to three Southeast Asian countries – Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia – to deepen economic links and boost security cooperation.
The way we see it, Aukus is about making sure that our Australian partners have the capabilities they need to keep their country secure. But also working together in areas like cyber, for example,” she added.
Under the new alliance, Australia will purchase eight state-of-the-art nuclear-powered – but not nuclear-armed – submarines from the US or the UK, discarding its Future Submarine Programme with France that would have provided the country with diesel-powered submarines.
The Aukus deal is reportedly costing France approximately €56 billion (RM270 billion) in lost revenue.
The formation of Aukus has sparked concern among some countries, including Malaysia, that it could provoke other powers to act more aggressively in the region, especially in the highly contested South China Sea.
Truss also said the UK is very keen for its defence agreements with other partners to be strengthened.
“So what we want to do is work with our friends and partners across the world to make sure there are strong security ties. Malaysia is a very important Commonwealth partner, as is Australia. And in fact, we will work together as part of the five-power agreement,” she said.
Malaysia and the UK are members of FPDA, along with Singapore, Australia and New Zealand. FPDA celebrated its 50th anniversary last month. – Bernama, November 12, 2021
