According to experts, the United States, Britain, and Australia’s expanded military pact, known as “AUKUS,” indicates a larger problem with how Canada is perceived by its allies.
President Joe Biden, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, and leader Anthony Albanese confirmed the next steps of the agreement in San Diego on Monday.
These next steps include American and British plans to help Australia develop a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines due to growing concerns about China’s actions in the Indo-Pacific region.
However, Canada is not included in this group, which worries some senior military leaders about the country’s access to cutting-edge technology.
Canada’s omission from the pact is seen by some as evidence that its allies do not believe it is serious about pushing back against Chinese ambitions, despite the release of a new Indo-Pacific strategy last year.
Canada’s strategy aims to strike a balance between confronting and cooperating with China. While the U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has identified “an increasingly aggressive China” as the American military’s top priority and a “generational challenge.”
Former Canadian ambassador to China, David Mulroney, credits Australia for initiating AUKUS after considering its future as a middle power in a world where China seeks to dominate.
Mulroney also states that it reflects Australia’s more realistic and innovative approach to diplomacy, along with its willingness to invest necessary resources in making such a partnership a reality.
Australia is expected to spend billions of dollars to purchase new submarines as part of the deal, while Britain and the U.S. are also expected to put money into the agreement for technology development, training, and other areas.
In comparison, the U.S., Britain, and Australia spend two percent or more of their national gross domestic product on defense, compared to less than 1.3 percent in Canada.
Additionally, while the U.S., Britain, and Australia have solid plans to build new submarines, Canada has yet to even commit to replacing its four trouble-plagued Victoria-class vessels.
Canadian military commanders, including Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Wayne Eyre, have repeatedly emphasized the need for submarines.
However, Canada’s exclusion from AUKUS may indicate that shared past experiences and common history may no longer guarantee an invitation to meetings with its closest allies.
Defense analyst David Perry of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute states that AUKUS is not a talk shop or a forum for getting together and having meetings, but a venue through which countries that are looking to make serious investments to deal with serious security problems will do so.
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