Think Tank Warns AUKUS Too Big for Australia

The Australia Institute has told a Senate Committee that the lack of planning for AUKUS is ‘deeply worrying.’

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (L), US President Joe Biden (C) and former British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak hold a press conference after a trilateral meeting during the AUKUS summit in San Diego, Calif., on March 13, 2023. Leon Neal/Getty Images

A think tank has called the AUKUS Pillar One nuclear-propelled submarine project “overly ambitious” and says it could weaken Australia’s ability to deal with “security threats that may not involve armed conflict,” such as pandemics.

In a submission to the Senate Committee considering the trilateral AUKUS treaty between Australia, the United States, and UK, the Australia Institute outlined several concerns with the pact, and said there was a “lack of analysis and evidence in support of the AUKUS.”