AUKUS is widely seen as a response to the perception among its members that the People's Republic of China poses a threat to the Indo-Pacific region.[7][8] When the partnership was announced, the Chinese government said that it risked "severely damaging regional peace" and had a "cold-war mentality".[9]
The creation of the partnership spelled the end of a French–Australian submarine deal worth €56 billion (A$90 billion) that was controversially cancelled by Australia.[10][11] Australia only gave the French government a few hours notice of the cancellation before the public announcement of AUKUS.[12][13] The Australian government agreed to a €555 million (US$584 million) compensation settlement with French defence contractor Naval Group.[14][15]
^Prime Minister of Australia; President of the United States of America; Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (14 March 2023). "Joint Leaders Statement on AUKUS". Prime Minister of Australia (Press release). Retrieved 13 August 2024. This article contains quotations from this source, which is available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence.
^Prime Minister of Australia Scott Morrison; Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Boris Johnson; President of the United States of America Joseph R. Biden (16 September 2021). "Joint Leaders Statement on AUKUS". Prime Minister of Australia (Press release). Archived from the original on 27 September 2021. Retrieved 25 September 2021.