Photo: KPMG Newsroom - KPMG.com.au

December 21, 2021

On 15 September 2021, heads of the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia signed the trilateral security pact. According to the "AUKUS" agreement, with the help of the US and UK, Australia will receive all the necessary aid (financial and technological) to build nuclear submarines. On the other hand, the AUKUS agreement put an end to the Australia-France 55$ billion-dollar deal, which was to deliver non-nuclear submarines to the Australian side. 

"AUKUS" agreement echoed throughout the entire international community. The first response of France was to call the pact "stab in the back" and recall ambassadors to Australia and the United States. The People's Republic of China called it "the decision motivated by the cold war mentality" and warned of destabilization in the South China Sea region. The "AUKUS" agreement follows the March 2021 diplomatic spat between the USA and China.