Last week, the Pentagon confirmed that it has completed its review of the AUKUS project and de-cided to proceed with arming Australia with nuclear-powered submarines.

The review identified areas to strengthen the pact. This $368 billion deal involves Australia acquiring nuclear-powered submarines to counter China’s military growth. The AUKUS nuclear submarine deal is viewed by critics as a potential threat to global strategic stability primarily by creating a precedent for nuclear proliferation, fueling an arms race in the Indo-Pacific and undermining the international non-proliferation regime. Juxtaposing the US-China perceived perspectives and the strategic implications of this deal in terms of strategic stability and nuclear non-proliferation, profoundly suggests that the deal weaves a western trajectory of dominance in the Indo-Pacific region, thereby paving the way for increasing regional tensions.

Seen from the western perspective, AUKUS is a recently built trilateral partnership based on promoting defence and security cooperation between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. Though apparently this strategic partnership fundamentally aims to deepen diplomatic, security and defence cooperation between the three states, yet the AUKUS is also focused on deepening integration in defence-related science, technology, industrial bases and supply chains, with particular emphasis on cyber capabilities, artificial intelligence, quantum technologies and new undersea capabilities.

While fulfilling the AUKUS objectives in terms of the efforts of other espousing partnerships and regional groupings, such as Five Eyes and the Quad, to develop coordination in areas including diplomacy, global governance, the AUKUS alliance, also seems to be focusing ‘’to support Australia in acquiring nuclear-powered submarines and the........

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