NEWS & EVENTS

AUKUS and the Indo-Pacific

On November 3rd, Ambassador David Shear, Senior Fellow at the Reischauer Center for East Asian Studies sat down with Mr. Ashley Townshend of the United States Studies Centre, Professor Alessio Patalano of kingscollege.london, Ambassador Ong Keng Yon of the RSIS | S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, and Dr. Thomas Fingar of Stanford University for the Edwin O. Reischauer Center for East Asian Studies on AUKUS and the Indo-Pacific.

The distinguished panel provided their various perspectives on AUKUS, a security defense agreement between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, which was first announced in September 2021. Mr. Ashley Townshend began by observing that AUKUS is building from the past rather than breaking from it. It is not a new kind of strategic alliance, especially in regards to the U.S.-Australia partnerships. Professor Alessio Patalano followed, reflecting that from the perspective of the United Kingdom AUKUS is a geopolitical shift as the first deliverable of Europe’s Indo-Pacific tilt. Ambassador Ong Keng Yong noted that ASEAN, as a regional organization, is wary of AUKUS and is waiting to see how the group develops. Dr. Thomas, turned the discussion to China, observing that while some expected China to utilize wolf warrior diplomacy, China has been fairly quiet, without releasing any high-profile announcements or remarks regarding AUKUS.

Overall, the conference provided many different viewpoints of AUKUS and how each region is looking at its development. If you missed the conference, you can find it on the Reischauer Center YouTube Channel