News Snapshot:
The Aukus defence pact between the US, UK and Australia is likely to drive China to step up its efforts to enhance its anti-submarine capabilities, military analysts have said. The three-nation alliance will give Australia access to nuclear-powered submarine technology and is seen as a way of increasing the pressure on China in the Asia-Pacific. China has outpaced the US in naval shipbuilding in recent years and has the major advantage of operating close to home in the western Pacific, but underwater warfare has been described as its “Achilles’ heel” by Donald Trump’s former deputy national security adviser Matt Pottinger....
