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The first autumn presentation held at MCC’s Székesfehérvár Center focused on the AUKUS agreement and its significance. Ádám Tenczer, an International Relations expert and researcher at Mathias Corvinus Collegium, offered insights into how the nuclear technology transfer agreement between the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia affects the security of the Pacific region, and why the US left out several of their allies from the cooperation.
Ádám Tenczer, opened his presentation by arguing that cohesion between Anglo-Saxon countries is stronger than Euro-Atlantic cooperation.
An outstanding proof if this, he stated, is the so-called AUKUS agreement, signed in the midst of the 2021 COVID crisis, which deeply upset France and China. Under AUKUS, the United States, the UK and Australia first established a naval agreement, which was later expanded to include cybersecurity and other elements.
While the EU is thinking in terms of comprehensive, multilateral international agreements, the United States embraces this approach only at a theoretical level and, in practice, seeks closer alliance with the countries of the English-speaking world. Washington has shown much greater willingness to establish so-called minilateral cooperation, with fewer participants and more effective operation.
The primary objective of the AUKUS cooperation is to equip the Australian Navy with nuclear-powered submarines. The cooperation provides for the deployment of at least one operational Australian nuclear submarine by 2040.
To achieve this goal, the Australian government will need to establish the necessary infrastructure for operations. This includes acquiring equipment for maintaining nuclear engines, developing plans for the supply of raw materials, and, most importantly, ensuring the availability of a properly trained crew. The ultimate goal is to deploy a total of eight operational nuclear-powered submarines. The AUKUS trilateral agreement establishes a long-term cooperation that will yield tangible military results over the course of decades. However, in political terms, it is already having repercussions. In fact, the exchange of technology for the construction of nuclear-powered submarines is not the only issue. The framework for cooperation also encompasses artificial intelligence, cyber and quantum technologies. Access to this and similar high-tech information is of crucial importance.
According to Tenczer, the main geopolitical objective of the AUKUS agreement is to counter China's increasing military capabilities in the region. It is, however, unclear to what extent the agreement between the three countries will be able to deter Chinese expansionist ambitions.
