AUKUS Partners Collaborate on Autonomous Undersea Vehicles to Counter Indo-Pacific Threats | Today’s news

The United States, Britain and Australia are jointly constructing autonomous underwater vehicles under the auspices of their tripartite security alliance AUKUS, the US Secretary of Defense. Pete Hegseth he told reporters in Singapore on Saturday.

This joint venture falls under the jurisdiction of the AUKUS “Pillar Two” initiative, which focuses on the pioneering of high-end military capabilities. These areas include quantum mechanics, subsurface warfare, hypersonics, artificial intelligence, and cyber security frameworks.

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“The signature project will provide a suite of highly adaptable multi-mission cargo UUVs designed to support undersea operations and maintain our collective advantage in the maritime domain,” Hegseth said.

Founded by three allied nations in 2021 VICTIMS the coalition serves as a strategic counterweight to Beijing’s expanding military footprint across the Indo-Pacific theater.

In response, China condemned the security alliance as highly destabilizing and warned that the deal risked triggering an escalating arms race across the region.

British Defense Secretary John Healey emphasized that the deployment of these unmanned underwater vessels will significantly enhance the collective ability of all three partners to intercept hostile actions, specifically targeting infrastructure weaknesses such as deep-sea communication cables and energy pipelines.

“This will rapidly provide our forces with the most advanced combat technologies as we jointly produce a range of cutting-edge sensors and weapon systems for undersea drones,” Healey said.

“For too long at AUKUS we have talked too much and delivered too little,” said Healey, who spoke alongside Hegseth and Australia’s defense minister on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.

Hegseth says the US is seeking a “stable balance” with China in Asia

Pete Hegseth maintained a measured approach regarding Beijing, acknowledging “legitimate alarm” over China’s expanding military capabilities while stressing that Washington is seeking a “stable balance” across Asia.

At the Shangri-La Dialogue, Hegseth’s keynote address offered a marked shift from the highly aggressive rhetoric he directed at China during the previous conference.

Unlike Beijing, which chose to send a delegation of academic experts and military analysts in place of Defense Minister Dong Jun for the second consecutive year, Hegseth arrived with a large American delegation that used the opportunity for public debate as well as confidential diplomatic negotiations.

“Looking across the region today, there is legitimate alarm about the historic buildup of China’s military and the expansion of its military activities in the region and beyond,” Hegseth said.

The United States is not seeking “unnecessary confrontation in the region” but is instead focused on creating “a truly stable balance (in Asia) that works for both the Americans and our allies,” Hegseth said.

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This means “a favorable but permanent balance of power in which no state, including China, can assert its hegemony and maintain the security or prosperity of our nation and our respective allies,” he added.

He further noted that Washington intends to maintain diplomatic channels with Beijing “with respect” and “good faith”.

US President Trump wrapped up a state visit to China earlier this month where he highlighted “fantastic” bilateral trade deals without offering broad specifics, and later suggested that Washington could use future military sales to self-ruled Taiwan as negotiating capital with Beijing.

While there remains “no change” in the basic U.S. stance toward Taiwan, Hegseth concluded that “any decision on future arms sales to Taiwan … will rest squarely with” Trump.