What is AUKUS?

About AUKUS:

• It is a trilateral security partnershipbetween the United Kingdom, the United States of America and Australia agreed in 2021 that focuses on technology sharing in the Indo-Pacific region.
• The alliance is widely understood to be a strategic buildup in response to, and a deterrence against, Chinese aggression and ambitions in that strategically important area.
• It is intended to strengthen the ability of each government to support security and defense interests, building on longstanding and ongoing bilateral ties.
• It consists of two key pillars.
• Pillar 1focuses on supporting Australia to acquire its first conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarine fleet. It does not involve the transfer of nuclear weapons to Australia.
• Pillar 2focuses on cooperation in eight advanced military capability areas: Artificial Intelligence (AI), quantum technologies, innovation, information sharing, and cyber, undersea, hypersonic, counter-hypersonic and electronic warfare domains.
• Submarine Component:
• It is designed to equip Australia with nuclear-powered attack submarines (SSNs).
• In total, Australia will end up with eightof the new nuclear submarines, called SSN-AUKUS.
• These submarines will be based on a British design but have American technologyor an American combat system.
• AUKUS will make Australia the seventh countryin the world to be armed with nuclear-powered submarines and the second, after the United Kingdom, with whom the United States has shared this technology.
• It will significantly enhance Australia’s undersea capabilities in the Indo-Pacific as nuclear-powered submarines offer many advantages, such as extended range, endurance, and stealth—features.
• These countries, however, made it clear that their aim is not to arm the new submarines with nuclear weapons. This is because Australia is a signatory to the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT), which bans it from acquiring or deploying nuclear weapons.