Much Ado About AUKUS

Zack and Melanie are joined by Adam Mount, senior fellow at the
Federation of American Scientists, to discuss the AUKUS security
agreement between Australia, the United States, and the United
Kingdom. What does the pact say about these
countries' assessment of the influence and ambition of China
in the Indo-Pacific? France, which had an agreement to provide
Australia with conventionally-powered submarines, was dropped in
favor of the United States and United Kingdom helping Australia
to develop nuclear-propelled submarines. Can AUKUS members repair
their relationships with France? The deal provides a framework
for cooperation between the countries on sharing information
related to cyber, AI, quantum computing, and other technology.
How might this arrangement affect national security as well as
societies in the coming decades? Finally, should we be concerned
about proliferation? 


Zack wishes the administration would be more forthright about how
it worked to secure the return of hostages from China, Adam is
unhappy with the departure of an important voice on nuclear
issues from the Pentagon, and Melanie is happy it’s finally
autumn!


Links:


Andrew S. Erickson, “Australia Badly Needs Nuclear Submarines,”
Foreign Policy, Sept. 20,
2021, https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/09/20/australia-aukus-nuclear-submarines-china/.


Ashley Townshend, “Far From Breaking with the Past, AUKUS
Advances Australia’s Commitment to Collective Defence,” The
Strategist, Australian Strategic Policy Institute, Sept. 24,
2021, https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/far-from-breaking-with-the-past-aukus-advances-australias-commitment-to-collective-defence/.  


Caitlin Talmadge, "Don't Sink the Nuclear Submarine Deal,"
Foreign Affairs, Sept. 27,
2021, https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/united-states/2021-09-27/dont-sink-nuclear-submarine-deal.


Daniel Baer, “Sub Snub Has Paris in a Tizzy over AUKUS,” Foreign
Policy, Sept. 17,
2021, https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/09/17/aukus-france-submarines-australia/.


Gender Champions in Nuclear
Policy, https://www.gcnuclearpolicy.org/.


James M. Acton, “Why the AUKUS Submarine Deal Is Bad for
Nonproliferation—And What to Do About It,” Carnegie Endowment for
International Peace, Sept. 21,
2021, https://carnegieendowment.org/2021/09/21/why-aukus-submarine-deal-is-bad-for-nonproliferation-and-what-to-do-about-it-pub-85399.


IPA Talent Exchange Program, Partnership for Public
Service, https://ourpublicservice.org/ipa-talent-exchange/.


Jen Psaki, "Press Briefing by Press Secretary," The White
House, Sept. 27,
2021, https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/press-briefings/2021/09/27/press-briefing-by-press-secretary-jen-psaki-september-27-2021/.


Josh Zumbrun, “World Bank Cancels Flagship ‘Doing Business’
Report After Investigation,” Wall Street Journal, Sept. 16,
2021, https://www.wsj.com/articles/world-bank-cancels-flagship-doing-business-report-after-investigation-11631811663.


Lindsay Hughes, “Does Australia Need Nuclear-Powered Submarines
and a Nuclear-Power Sector?”, Future Directions International,
Feb. 25,
2021, https://www.futuredirections.org.au/publication/does-australia-need-nuclear-powered-submarines-and-a-nuclear-power-sector/.