AUKUS defence alliance to develop hypersonic weapons—Canada left out again

In September 2021, Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States came together to create the AUKUS defence alliance.

On Tuesday, the alliance expanded its scope, announcing that the three nations would work together in the development of hypersonic weapons.

In a statement, AUKUS discussed the goals of the alliance, which include "a free and open Indo-Pacific," and an "unwavering commitment to an international system that respects human rights, the rule of law, and the peaceful resolution of disputes free from coercion."

The alliance's commitment to assisting Australia's development of nuclear-powered submarines is also mentioned.

"We also committed today," the statement continues, "to commence new trilateral cooperation on hypersonics and counter-hypersonics, and electronic warfare capabilities, as well as to expand information sharing and to deepen cooperation on defense innovation."

The goal of this program is to "deepen cooperation on cyber capabilities, artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, and additional undersea capabilities" between the three nations.

"As our work progresses on these and other critical defense and security capabilities, we will seek opportunities to engage allies and close partners," the statement concludes.

One ally notably left out of the alliance is Canada. After being excluded in September, Prime Minister Trudeau did not seem too concerned, leading many to wonder whether Canada is taking security seriously enough.

"Canada has skated on thin ice so far this century," defence studies professor Paul T. Mitchell told the National Post. "It’s avoided confronting the erosion of its strategic defence. We can continue to drag our heels, but eventually the bill will come due when our government commits our forces to a mission they can no longer fulfill because we thought we didn’t need to concern ourselves with the health of the military."

While Canada and fellow reject New Zealand are not members of AUKUS, the pair are allied with Australia, the UK, and the US in the "Five Eyes" partnership.

Both Canada and New Zealand have been hesitant to consider banning Chinese technology company Huawei. Given that China is seen by many as the west's greatest threat, perhaps this played a role in their exclusion from the AUKUS alliance.

As the Post reports, following AUKUS' latest announcement, China’s U.N. Ambassador Zhang Jun warned that the development of hypersonic missiles and submarines in Australia could provoke a response from its Asian neighbor.

"Anyone who does not want to see the Ukrainian crisis," he said, "should refrain from doing things which may lead the other parts of the world into a crisis like this."