Thread by @mfullilove

For Australia, #AUKUS is a big bet, a big signal and a big lift. A 🧵 from me on the San Diego announcement:

The big bet is on the United States’ staying power in Asia. Mind you, it’s also a big bet by the United States on Australia. The sharing of nuclear secrets is as intimate as international relations gets. So, thanks @POTUS – your predecessor might not have done the same. /2

The big signal is ambition. Australia is often said to be a middle power, but this is not a middling move. We’re a significant power with regional and global interests, and we’re signalling our intention to shape our environment and contribute to Asia’s balance of power. /3

Finally, #AUKUS is a big lift. The $368 billion price tag is eye-watering, but cost is only one of the challenges. There are substantial risks relating to people, deadlines and complexity. This is a whole-of-nation endeavour. /4

As China has hardened its external behaviour over the past decade, and especially after Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine last year, we have seen a remarkable quickening of connections between like-minded countries. /5

Increasingly, democracies are willing to share sovereignty a little in the knowledge that the true threat to sovereignty comes not from their friends but from their adversaries. This is the real significance of #AUKUS. /END