[The alliance between Britain,
the US and Australia has divided the region and angered China]
She added: “I was deeply saddened
by the awful attack in Liverpool this month, but the resolve of the people of
this great city will never waver in the face of such atrocities.”
The only country in the Asean not
invited is Myanmar,
which has been asked to instead present a representative who is not part of the
ruling junta to attend by video, the policy adopted by Asean at its own summit
last month, and at a China-Asean summit due on Monday.
China is likely to view this
expansion of the G7, which represents the world’s most advanced economic
powers, as an attempt to get the region to endorse Aukus, and a more hard-edged
military approach to China.
In September, Australia infuriated
the French by cancelling a longstanding submarine contract with Paris and
announcing it was forming a partnership with the US and the UK to build
nuclear-powered submarines, and to work together on technologies such as artificial
intelligence and quantum computing.
Speaking at the weekend, the
Indonesian defence minister, Prabowo Subianto, said of Aukus: “Our position is
that of course south-east Asia should remain nuclear-free, and the fear is that
this will spark an arms race, this will spark more countries seeking nuclear
submarines, and we know now that the technology is there. I think many other
countries can very soon have nuclear submarines – I would say Japan and India
and many other countries, so that is the concern.” He added that he understood,
however, that countries might seek to defend themselves when faced by what they
consider an existential threat.
The Malaysian defence minister,
Hishammuddin Hussein, said: “The stakes are too high and the cost is not worth the
risk, as no one wants or can afford a full-scale confrontation in these waters.
We must set aside our egos, our pride and our anger in moving forward.
Combative statements, whether from inside or outside the region, are not
helpful and could only serve as a spark to a potential tragedy.”
The foreign secretary, Liz Truss,
said: “I want us to build a worldwide network of liberty that advances freedom,
democracy and enterprise and encourages like-minded countries to work together
from a position of strength.”
She added: “I was deeply saddened
by the awful attack in Liverpool this month, but the resolve of the people of
this great city will never waver in the face of such atrocities.”
The only country in the Asean not
invited is Myanmar,
which has been asked to instead present a representative who is not part of the
ruling junta to attend by video, the policy adopted by Asean at its own summit
last month, and at a China-Asean summit due on Monday.
China is likely to view this
expansion of the G7, which represents the world’s most advanced economic
powers, as an attempt to get the region to endorse Aukus, and a more hard-edged
military approach to China.
In September, Australia infuriated
the French by cancelling a longstanding submarine contract with Paris and
announcing it was forming a partnership with the US and the UK to build
nuclear-powered submarines, and to work together on technologies such as
artificial intelligence and quantum computing.
Speaking at the weekend, the
Indonesian defence minister, Prabowo Subianto, said of Aukus: “Our position is
that of course south-east Asia should remain nuclear-free, and the fear is that
this will spark an arms race, this will spark more countries seeking nuclear
submarines, and we know now that the technology is there. I think many other
countries can very soon have nuclear submarines – I would say Japan and India
and many other countries, so that is the concern.” He added that he understood,
however, that countries might seek to defend themselves when faced by what they
consider an existential threat.
The Malaysian defence minister,
Hishammuddin Hussein, said: “The stakes are too high and the cost is not worth
the risk, as no one wants or can afford a full-scale confrontation in these
waters. We must set aside our egos, our pride and our anger in moving forward.
Combative statements, whether from inside or outside the region, are not
helpful and could only serve as a spark to a potential tragedy.”
Hussein also spoke out against
Aukus, saying: “My concern with the developments of Aukus – and sometimes it is
rhetoric, sometimes it might be increased tensions, it might be reduced
dialogue with regards to the two superpowers in our region – is it should not
lead to unforeseen, unintended and accidental incidents in the South China Sea.
If the South China Sea is full of military movement, [it increases] the chances
of unintended accidents happening, which has happened in the past – and we all
have to realise the first world war started by accident. Now, that is a real
problem [that] requires courage, it requires a lot of patience, it requires
diplomacy.”
He also warned against the new
alliance leading to a break up of the Asean bloc. “We do not want these 10
nations to be broken up for any reason, especially not because of the
geopolitical reasoning of superpowers in our region.”
Stephen Lovegrove, the UK’s
national security adviser, said the planned Australian nuclear-propelled
submarines “will carry probably very similar weaponry to the submarines that
Australia was, in any case, going to buy from the French”, and added that “the
Australian government is completely committed to making sure that the highest
possible standards of stewardship and operation are maintained”.
On Friday, Kurt Campbell, the US
Indo-Pacific adviser at the national security council acknowledged the
resentment the Aukus partnership had caused, and claimed that it might not be
an exclusive organisation, but open to other European nations to join in the
future. He gave no details.
The Chinese embassy in Washington
disputed Campbell’s characterisation. “Aukus is a closed and exclusive clique
informed by the cold war zero-sum mentality with strong military security
undertones,” Liu Pengyu, an embassy spokesperson, said.
