Asia | Great AUKUS

The Anglophone military alliance in Asia is seriously ambitious

America, Australia and Britain will build and man each other’s nuclear subs in Asia

Anthony Albanese, Australia's prime minister, left, and US President Joe Biden at Naval Base Point Loma in San Diego, California, US, on Monday, March 13, 2023. The prime ministers of the UK and Australia are meeting Biden today as the three nations unveil the next phase of the AUKUS nuclear submarine program, a security partnership meant to counter China. Photographer: Eric Thayer/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Image: Getty Images
|LONDON

IN 1908 the second USS Missouri, an American battleship, sailed from San Francisco to Sydney as part of the so-called Great White Fleet’s tour of Asia and circumnavigation of the world. Her successor, the third USS Missouri, hosted Japan’s surrender in 1945. On March 13th the fourth USS Missouri, a Virginia-class attack submarine, lived up to this illustrious lineage by etching her own name in the history of American naval power in the Pacific.

This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline “Great AUKUS”

From the March 18th 2023 edition

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