Explainer Series
AUKUS in
the Indo-Pacific
This guide is provided as part of the Perth USAsia Centres ‘explainer series’ and is intended for education purposes. It is free to use and share but attribution to the Perth USAsia Centre is required.
What is AUKUS?
↗ First announced on 15 September 2021, AUKUS is a trilateral security pact between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States.
The AUKUS pact has two pillars. The first pillar is the one most often in the news. Under this pillar, Australia will become the seventh nation to possess nuclear powered submarines, at a cost of around $368 billion over 30 years. (The others are the US, UK, France, India, China and Russia).
The second pillar is less discussed, but just as important – Australia, the UK and the US will collaborate on advanced technologies across a range of strategically important areas.
Explore the AUKUS series
