For the Washington Times, CERL Advisory Council member David S. Jonas weighs in on the inevitability of the Australia-United Kingdom-United States alliance (AUKUS), and Australia’s recent decision to acquire nuclear submarines from the U.S. and the U.K. after canceling a significant contract with France.

Jonas, with co-author Patrick Rhoads, note that an initially surprising decision proves unavoidable when considering China’s retaliatory “campaign of economic coercion” and “famed ‘wolf warrior’ tactics” against Australia.

“In retrospect, the only answer for the Aussies was the acquisition of nuclear submarines, which enabled long-duration deployments with the necessary stealth to counter the Chinese navy,” said Jonas and Rhoads. “Some Australian Ministry of Defence members have lobbied for nuclear submarines since the 1990s.”

David S. Jonas is a Partner at Fluet, as well as an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center and George Washington University Law School. Read his bio here. 

The views expressed here are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of any organization or university.