Canada excluded from AUKUS security alliance

A new security alliance created to counter China has a notable missing member–Canada.

On Wednesday, US President Joe Biden held a virtual meeting with the leaders of Australia and the United Kingdom to announce the creation of AUKUS, an "enhanced trilateral security partnership."

"Through AUKUS," reads a joint statement, "our governments will strengthen the ability of each to support our security and defense interests, building on our longstanding and ongoing bilateral ties. We will promote deeper information and technology sharing. We will foster deeper integration of security and defense-related science, technology, industrial bases, and supply chains. And in particular, we will significantly deepen cooperation on a range of security and defense capabilities."

The statement goes on to say that, "For more than 70 years, Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, have worked together, along with other important allies and partners, to protect our shared values and promote security and prosperity," and that "with the formation of AUKUS, we recommit ourselves to this vision."

Not included in the AUKUS vision is Canada, a long-time strategic partner of all three nations in the agreement. The decision to exclude Canada has caused many to wonder whether Trudeau has done enough to show that he can be a viable partner in such an endeavour.

Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole, for example, asked whether Canada's allies even trust Trudeau.

As the Toronto Sun reports, Canada is a member of the Five Eyes Intelligence Network, along with the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. The latter nation, also left out of the AUKUS agreement, shares with Canada the fact that they have been hesitant to consider banning Chinese technology company Huawei.