Why is Southeast Asia so concerned about AUKUS and Australia’s plans for nuclear submarines?


Source: msn.com msn.com

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The announcement of a new strategic alliance between Australia, the UK, and the US (AUKUS) has caught many by surprise. Besides France, which reacted with fury over Australia’s scrapping of a major submarine deal with a French company, few countries were as surprised as Australia’s neighbors to the north, the ASEAN members. In particular, Indonesia and Malaysia have come out strongly against Australia’s plan to acquire a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines with the help of the US and UK. Even Singapore, Australia’s most reliable ally in the region, has expressed concern. The Afghanistan debacle has left a bad taste among...