Beyond AUKUS: the emerging grand maritime alliance

The AUKUS agreement is the first in history to allow a non-nuclear country to have nuclear-powered submarines, but not nuclear weapons. It pushes the Australia–UK–US alliance to the level of a closer military, scientific, and industrial community and outlines a prototype for a new “maritime alliance.” The closer the internal relationship of this alliance, the more it will estrange China. The alliance seeks to create a “de-Sinicized” defense industry chain and has thus become the forerunner for the restructuring of international relations. The “integrated deterrence” strategy that the alliance is building will change the strategic deterrence structure in the Indo-Pacific region and some essential features of the US alliance system’s deterrence strategy against China. China should pay great attention to the political will, strategic structure, deterrence concept, and military tactics displayed by this major agreement.