Military alliance ‘unnerves’ Beijing

A FORMER US secretary of state has taken aim at China’s “outsized” ambitions in a discussion about the importance the AUKUS alliance will have on stability in the Indo-Pacific.

In conversation with Australia’s longest-serving foreign minister, Alexander Downer, former US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice (inset) said it was only natural the UK, the US and Australia came together to counter China’s influence in the Indo-Pacific.

“I love the idea of the Quad, I think that the Chinese don’t particularly: they were actually unnerved by the notion of Australia, India, Japan and the US,” she said at the Policy Exchange forum.

“I think they will be equally unnerved by Australia, Great Britain and the US because you bring real weight, militarily, technologically in terms of intelligence and the UK is really quite a powerhouse in those areas, whether it’s military, technology or intelligence.

“It has the potential to shape the Indo-Pacific, along with Japan and Korea and India, in ways that make it difficult for China to reach some of its ambitions. I’m hoping it doesn’t just find footing but that it reaches its full potential, which I think is significant.”

Mr Downer said his vision was for the AUKUS alliance to put China’s influence in the Indo-Pacific region in check.

“I think AUKUS will contribute to a better power balance in the Indo-Pacific. And I think if you have a better power balance in the IndoPacific, it’s not to contain China but it’s to constrain China. You will have a more peaceful region,” he said.

Mr Downer said China had done itself no favours by acting against the interests of the Chinese people.

“They have run one of the worst foreign policies I’ve seen by any country in the last three or four years by alienating what you might broadly describe as the West ... and leading them to rally to balance China’s power,” he said.