This week marks five years since US President Joe Biden, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced AUKUS, a trilateral security partnership composed of two parts: Pillar I, the nuclear-powered submarine program, and Pillar II, a collaboration on advanced defence capabilities.
Since then, AUKUS has survived multiple leadership changes and national reviews or public inquiries in all three countries. At a time of heightened geopolitical risk, the case for acquiring the subs to help protect Australia’s access to sea-lanes and contribute to regional stability has endured.
