CANBERRA, March 7 (Xinhua) -- "We will reap what we have sown" with AUKUS, said John Menadue, founder and editor-in-chief of the public policy journal Pearls and Irritations, in a latest article.
Australia is seeing more clearly in the last few weeks how unstable the United States has become, Menadue wrote in the article.
The article cited data from a poll of 2,009 Australians, published by the Australia Institute on Tuesday, which showed that most Australians prefer a more independent foreign policy to a closer alliance with the United States.
AUKUS is not for the defense of Australia; it is to join with the United States to confront the Chinese, wrote Menadue.
"We are being given a taste of what will be in store for us in the future as we forfeit our sovereignty to the United States, the most dangerous and aggressive country in the world. Empires in decline are often very dangerous," Menadue wrote.
"We will pay a price for acting as America's proxy in our region. That cost will not be just financial. Our strategic costs and risks will also keep escalating," he added.
The article quoted former Australian Foreign Minister Gareth Evans as saying: "Australia's no-holds barred embrace of AUKUS is more likely than not to prove one of the worst defense and foreign policy decisions our country has made, not only putting at profound risk our sovereignty and independence, but generating more risk than reward for the very national security it promises to protect."
"We have chosen to be a proxy for the U.S. in our region against China, our major trading partner. What could be more unsustainable than acting as a proxy for the Americans in its determination to cripple or even attack China?" it added.
In 2021, leaders of Australia, the United States and Britain formed the AUKUS pact, which aimed to deepen cooperation among the three countries in defense and security. ■
