AUKUS to be discussed by leading universities security experts

Designed by Arizona State University, King’s College London and the University of New South Wales, AUKUS in Context: Security and Strategy Implications for the Indo-Pacific and Globally is a three-day professional development course created to further understanding of the AUKUS security alliance and its potential impact on regional and global security.

The AUKUS agreement, a first-of-its-kind partnership announced in September 2021, aims to enable deeper integration of security and defence priorities between Australia, the United States and United Kingdom, including through cooperation in science, technology, industry, intelligence, and the military.

In mid-March, President Joe Biden, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the AUKUS “optimal pathway” to work on SNN-AUKUS, a project based on implementing nuclear-powered submarines in Australia, focusing on accelerating its development of naval personnel, workforce, infrastructure and regulatory systems. With US technology and support, Australia expects to deliver its first home-built nuclear submarine by the early 2040s, while the UK by the late 2030s.

Considering the potential impact and challenges of this trilateral alliance, the course ‘AUKUS in context’ will provide a basic technical introduction for non-specialists, examining critical aspects of the partnership, such as its strategic value in Indo-Pacific security, and the development of joint nuclear submarines and other advanced technologies.

Through online live forums with experts across three continents, knowledge-sharing activities, briefings based on the AUKUS latest research, and a live online wargame, course participants will understand the background of the agreement and the perspectives of each government involved.

The course is hosted by the Security & Defence PLuS, a new research and educational collaboration created by the PLuS Alliance, which helps advance and support statecraft, research and policy in the spirit of the AUKUS.

At our three universities, our goal is for Security & Defence PLuS to be viewed by governments and industry as the higher education sector’s key enabler of AUKUS education and research requirements.”
– Vice Admiral (Ret’d) Professor Paul Maddison, Executive Director of Security & Defence PLuS