US President Joe Biden (center) speaks alongside British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak (right) and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at a press conference during the AUKUS summit on March 13, 2023, at Naval Base Point Loma in San Diego, California. AUKUS is a trilateral security pact announced on September 15, 2021 for the Indo-Pacific region (See stories on Pages 3 and 5). Photo: AFP

Analysts called on Beijing to be alert toward Canberra, which could be a double-dealer over its China policy, after Australia's defense minister claimed that Australia has "absolutely not" given the US a commitment that it would join its top security ally in a potential conflict over the Taiwan question in AUKUS negotiations.

Richard Marles, Australian defense minister, made the comment on Sunday as he continued to defend Australia's multi-decade plan to acquire nuclear-powered submarines with the help from the US and the UK at a total cost of up to $368 billion between now and the mid-2050s, media reported.

Marles told Australian media outlet ABC that the AUKUS submarines would back up Australia's interests in "protecting trade and freedom of navigation and flight in the South China Sea." He also cited the so-called China's rapid military buildup which "shapes the strategic landscape in which we live."

"We want the best relationship with China that we can have and we are working very hard to stabilize that relationship," Marles said.

However, Chinese analysts pointed out that what Canberra does and what it says are contradictory. On the one hand, it reiterated the importance of recovering ties with China, but on the other hand, it actively promotes the aggressive AUKUS deal under US pressure to target China.

Marles seemingly made the pacifist remarks to appease the discontent and questioning both from home and abroad, Chen Hong, director of the Australian Studies Center at East China Normal University, told the Global Times on Sunday.

Marles, a loyal defender of the AUKUS deal, is affected by cross-party anti-China forces within Australian politics, Chen said. Australia's anti-China forces are cultivated and supported by the US which has tried to obstruct the warming of relations between China and Australia.

China-Australia relations should be based on stability, security and peace, but the US-led AUKUS was born from confrontation, especially against China, Chen pointed out.

According to the agreement, Australia will purchase up to five US nuclear-powered submarines in the next few years, which means that Australia will become the seventh country in the world to have nuclear submarines. 

According to Australian media, all the nuclear-powered submarines will be built in Adelaide, South Australia, with UK and US providing consultation on technology 

The pact is committed to information and technology exchanges among the three nations in areas ranging from intelligence and quantum technology to the acquisition of cruise missiles.

Australia is "planting a time bomb" for its own peace and that of the region, and it would bear the cost of the "expensive mistake" of following the US, analysts warned. They urged Canberra to restrain from militarizing Australia and blindly following the US' Indo-Pacific Strategy which would pose a threat to regional security and stability.

The potential benefits of the AUKUS deal would only belong to the US, Chen said, calling on Australia to be clear-eyed about its national interests.