"AUKUS Develops Unmanned Underwater Vehicles, Experts: Provoking New Risks, Turning the Seabed into a Strategic Battleground"

【Global Times Report by Reporter Li Meng】On May 30, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia announced in Singapore that the three countries will collaborate on the development of unmanned underwater vehicle technology under the framework of the "AUKUS" trilateral security partnership, aimed at protecting undersea cables and enhancing defense capabilities. Chen Hong, director of the Australia Research Center at East China Normal University, stated in an interview with the Global Times on May 31 that this cooperation is, in fact, a sign of the second pillar of "AUKUS" moving from concept to military implementation, superficially cloaked in the guise of "infrastructure security," but fundamentally further militarizing, networking, and advancing underwater space, which will have negative implications for regional security.

According to the joint statement from the three countries, the aforementioned project is the first landmark initiative of the second pillar of "AUKUS," which will develop cutting-edge payloads and supporting systems for unmanned underwater vehicles, enabling these vehicles to protect undersea infrastructure and possess multiple operational capabilities, including strike, surveillance, reconnaissance, and logistical support.

As planned, the new unmanned underwater vehicles are expected to be delivered starting in 2027. UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace revealed that the UK will invest £150 million in the project. Wallace claimed that these unmanned underwater vehicles will significantly enhance the three countries' ability to respond to various underwater threats, including threats to undersea cables and pipelines, which will further strengthen their deterrence in waters such as the Pacific and Atlantic.

According to British media reports, the announcement coincided with the 23rd Shangri-La Dialogue. The defense ministers of the US, UK, and Australia also took this opportunity to review the progress of the "AUKUS" agreement. Previously, there had been questions regarding the slow progress of various projects under the "AUKUS" framework.

"AUKUS" was established by the US, UK, and Australia in 2021. Although the alliance is touted as supporting a "free and open Indo-Pacific," it is widely perceived as aimed at containing China. AFP reported that the "first pillar" of "AUKUS" focuses on providing Australia with nuclear-powered submarines equipped with conventional weapons, while the "second pillar" brings together top talents from the defense departments of the three countries, aiming to jointly develop cutting-edge defense technologies such as quantum computing, underwater technology, hypersonic technology, artificial intelligence, and cyber technology. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has repeatedly expressed its position on the so-called "trilateral security partnership" of the US, UK, and Australia, advancing nuclear submarine and other advanced military technology cooperation: "We consistently oppose the creation of bloc confrontations, oppose increasing the risk of nuclear proliferation, and oppose intensifying the arms race."

Chen Hong told the Global Times reporter that since its inception, "AUKUS" has been an important tool for the US to reshape the military alliance system in the Indo-Pacific and strengthen frontline deterrence against China. Now, with the expansion from nuclear submarines to unmanned underwater vehicles, it indicates that the three countries are extending their competition with China from the surface, air, space, and cyberspace to the seabed. The security of undersea cables is originally a common concern of all countries, which can be resolved through international cooperation, transparent rules, and civilian protection mechanisms, but "AUKUS" incorporates it into reconnaissance and strike systems, militarizing public safety issues within a military alliance, which not only fails to reduce risks and protect undersea order but instead creates new risks, turning the seabed into a new strategic battleground.