Australia’s AUKUS Partnership and the Reconfiguration of Indo-Pacific Security Alliances

Background: The trilateral AUKUS security partnership between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, particularly its nuclear-powered submarine component progressing through 2023 and 2024, has significantly altered the architecture of Indo-Pacific security alliances and provoked varied regional responses. Aims/objectives: This study examines how AUKUS has influenced Australia's strategic positioning within the broader Indo-Pacific security order and the diplomatic reactions of neighboring Southeast Asian states. Method: A qualitative document analysis of official AUKUS agreements, parliamentary debates, and ASEAN member state statements was conducted alongside interviews with regional strategic studies scholars during the research period. Results: Findings indicate that while AUKUS strengthened deterrence capabilities against potential Chinese coercion, several Southeast Asian states expressed concern over regional arms race dynamics and the erosion of ASEAN-centered security architecture in favor of bilateral and trilateral minilateral arrangements. Nuclear non-proliferation advocates raised additional questions regarding precedent-setting implications for the global nonproliferation regime. Conclusion: The study concludes that AUKUS represents a significant recalibration of Australian strategic autonomy toward closer alignment with Anglophone allies, generating both deterrence benefits and regional diplomatic friction. Sustained engagement with ASEAN concerns is recommended to mitigate perceptions of a fragmenting regional security order. The trajectory of AUKUS implementation will likely serve as a bellwether for future minilateral security cooperation across the wider Indo-Pacific theater.

Keywords: AUKUS, Indo-Pacific security, Australia foreign policy, minilateralism, nuclear submarines