The countries that make up the AUKUS military alliance (an acronym for the three countries that make up the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom) announced Tuesday that they have agreed to cooperate on the development of hypersonic weapons and other combat capabilities.
In a joint statement, the President of the United States, Joe Biden, the British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, and the Australian Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, assured that they are “satisfied” with the progress made since the creation of the military pact last September and informed that they will work together in other areas. “AUKUS partners will work together to accelerate the development of advanced hypersonic [weapons] capabilities,” they noted.
In reaction, China’s representative to the United Nations, Zhang Jun, on the same day rejected the cooperation agreement between the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia on hypersonic weapons and warned that this plan could fuel a crisis such as the conflict in Ukraine in other parts of the world.
“Anyone who does not want to see the Ukraine crisis should refrain from doing things that could lead other parts of the world to a crisis like this […]. As the Chinese saying goes: if you don’t like it, don’t impose it on others,” Zhang told reporters.
US alarmed at China’s advanced supersonic systems
Meanwhile, the US Department of Defense (the Pentagon) expressed concern on Tuesday about the “impressive expansion” of China’s nuclear arsenal and its advances in the field of supersonic systems.
In a written statement addressed to the US House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, the head of US Strategic Command (Stratcom), Admiral Charles Richard, accused Beijing of having the ability to “unilaterally escalate a conflict at any level of violence” and “at any time”.
Richard referred to China’s test of a hypersonic ballistic missile last July, calling it a “technical achievement.” In addition, he stressed that China has three new nuclear missile fields to the west of its territory, each with about 120 silos.
The United States, Russia and China are developing hypersonic weapons. A hypersonic missile, while slower than a ballistic missile, has a level of maneuverability that ballistic missiles lack, helping them to dodge and become more difficult for enemies to track.
