We need some perspective on the defence and security pact between Australia, Britain and America

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Joe Biden and Boris Johnson announce the new security initiative on Wednesday (EPA)

The Australia-UK-US alliance (Aukus) will not lead to Britain’s involvement in a war with China if it invades Taiwan. For more than 40 years the US has made clear that this would not be a casus belli.

In 1972, President Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger said that the island was “part of China”. President Jimmy Carter unilaterally annulled the Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty in 1979 after diplomatic relations were established with the People’s Republic of China. The US Taiwan Relations Act (reconfirmed in 2021) promises cooperation but not direct US military assistance in case of an invasion.

Dr John Doherty