By Aaron Miller–
China has gone on the offensive and accused the US, UK and Australia of trying to build an “Asia-Pacific version of NATO” .
The strong accusation comes after the announcement that the three countries plan to develop hypersonic weapons via the recently created AUKUS security alliance.
It follows an announcement by Prime Minister Scott Morrison, US President Joe Biden, and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson after holding a check-in on the progress of AUKUS, the Indo-Pacific alliance that was launched by the three countries in September.
In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian told a daily briefing that the cooperation would “undermine peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region.”
“The US, UK and Australia will cooperate in developing hypersonic weapons and other advanced military technology,” Mr Zhao said.
“Their ultimate goal is to create the Asia-Pacific version of NATO and serve the US hegemony outright. Asia-Pacific countries are of course firmly opposed to this.” The alliance comes amid growing concerns by the US and allies about China’s growing military assertiveness in the Pacific.
Australia, the UK and the US have already started collaborative efforts across a range of advanced military technologies, including cyber, artificial intelligence, quantum technology and undersea robotics.
China and Russia have already testing advanced versions of hypersonic missiles that can hit distant targets at such high speeds that they cannot be readily intercepted by defence systems.
European nations become open to joining the U.S.-led military alliance, Asian governments that don’t already have mutual defense treaties with America have been reluctant to get too close. Many are economically dependent on China, whose economy is many times larger than Russia’s, and have resisted picking sides in the broader geopolitical struggle between the world’s biggest economies.
Mr Zhao criticised the AUKUS partnership as “an Anglo-Saxon clique” that followed “the mentality of Cold War and bloc politics”.
“We urge the US, UK and Australia to face up to the aspirations of Asia-Pacific countries to seek peace and development, promote cooperation and achieve win-win results,” he said.
“We urge them to abandon the Cold War mentality and zero-sum games, faithfully fulfil their international obligations, and do more things that are conducive to regional peace and stability.”
Separately, Mr Zhao condemned the US-proposed sale of equipment related to the Patriot air defence system to Taiwan, saying China would “take strong measures to resolutely defend its sovereignty and security interest.”
The US $95-million-worth deal includes support for the operation of the Patriot system, such as training, fielding and maintenance of the system, and related equipment, according to a Pentagon notification to Congress.