According to a June 7 message from the podcast channel "Pacific Polarity," former Australian Consul General in Honolulu, Jane Hardy, revealed during a conversation with podcast hosts Lixi Li and Richard Gray that despite stepping down from her position as Consul General of Honolulu in June 2021, she had no knowledge of the "Australia-United Kingdom-United States Security Partnership" (AUKUS), which was announced in September of the same year.

Jane Hardy is a senior Australian diplomat who served in seven Australian embassies and consulates across the Indo-Pacific region over a 30-year career, including a term as Ambassador to Spain. After leaving her post in Honolulu, she became a non-resident senior research fellow at the United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney.

Discussing the situation when AUKUS was announced, Hardy stated: "When I returned from Hawaii for leave, AUKUS was suddenly announced, and I had to tell the friends at the United States Studies Centre: 'I assure you I know nothing about it.'"

She added: "This matter was kept strictly confidential at the time. Looking back now, there were people flying frequently to Hawaii for this purpose, including the current Chief of the Australian Defence Force and head of AUKUS, who were the most frequent visitors to Honolulu."

According to Hardy, she served nearly four years as Consul General in Honolulu, where her duties involved liaising with the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command and other U.S. military combat commands stationed in Hawaii. Her responsibilities extended beyond Hawaii to include monitoring developments in the Indo-Pacific region through the local command's perspective, including the Korean Peninsula, Southeast Asia, the South China Sea, and dynamics in the Indian Ocean.

AUKUS, the military alliance, was announced in September 2021, with the U.S. and the U.K. providing nuclear submarine technology to help Australia form a nuclear submarine fleet. According to the "AUKUS" agreement, Australia will acquire eight new nuclear submarines based on British design and incorporating American technology, with the first five expected to be delivered in the mid-2050s. In February this year, Australia made its first payment of $500 million to the U.S.

In March 2023, the leaders of the U.S., the U.K., and Australia met in San Diego, California, for an AUKUS meeting. Visual China.

Hardy said that on paper, AUKUS is an important concept for Australia, binding the country's security to the idea of having overseas power projection capabilities, collaborating with allies, and forming deterrence. The cooperation in nuclear submarines meets these critical needs, as our Collins-class submarines are small, and she has boarded one, which are set to retire soon, creating a significant capability gap in this area.

However, she also mentioned that AUKUS has long been controversial in Australia, with much of the debate focusing on the massive amount of money required for the project. There are also questions about whether this decades-long plan will have a negative impact on other defense deployments and capabilities in Australia.

"Additionally, can we view the U.S. as a reliable ally? Especially since Trump's second inauguration, I have heard and read many discussions about this issue, as trade wars and tariff wars seem to be raising a question globally: Has the U.S. hurt its allies more than its long-term opponents? I believe this is an important question that will remain a focus for a long time in the future," Hardy stated.

Recently, in response to the trade disputes initiated by the Trump administration, various sectors of Australian society have reflected on the country's policies toward China and the U.S.

On March 16, Adam Bandt, leader of the Australian Greens, stated that after Trump imposed tariffs on all steel and aluminum and refused to grant Australia an exemption, Canberra should withdraw from AUKUS and explore multilateral relations with other countries affected by the tariffs. He直言ly stated that counting on Trump to provide assistance when Australia faces a security threat is "wishful thinking."

Regarding the trilateral nuclear submarine cooperation between the U.S., the U.K., and Australia, the Chinese Foreign Ministry has repeatedly expressed its serious stance. This cooperation poses a severe risk of nuclear proliferation, impacts the international nuclear non-proliferation system, stimulates arms races, and undermines peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region, receiving widespread doubt and opposition from regional countries and the international community. China urges the U.S., the U.K., and Australia to abandon Cold War mentality and zero-sum games, faithfully fulfill their international obligations, and do more to contribute to regional peace and stability.

This article is an exclusive contribution by Guancha Zazhi and cannot be reprinted without permission.

Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7514592533180154387/

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone. Please use the buttons below to express your support or opposition.