‘No obligation’ to go to war under AUKUS, US general says

One of the US military’s top commanders says the AUKUS pact doesn’t impose an ‘expectation’ on Australia to follow the US into a war with China.

US Indo-Pacific Command deputy commander Lieutenant General Stephen Sklenka.

One of the US military’s top Indo-Pacific commanders says America will not “kidnap” Australian sailors serving on its nuclear submarines if it finds itself in a war with China, declaring there was “no expectation” that Australia would follow the US into such a conflict.

As Beijing launched “punishment” exercises in the Taiwan Strait following the inauguration of the territory’s new president, Lieutenant General Stephen Sklenka said the US was on the alert for a Chinese invasion of the self-governing island within the next three years.

General Sklenka, the deputy commander of US Indo-Pacific Command, said the Chinese were “bullies” harassing other nations’ ships and aircraft with “dangerous behaviour” that could escalate into conflict.

The heightened security environment comes as the US pushes to get 440 Australian sailors serving on its nuclear-powered subs to prepare them to operate Australia’s promised Virginia-class and AUKUS boats.

Joe Biden’s No. 2 diplomat Kurt Campbell in April suggested that Australia’s future nuclear-­powered submarines could one day be deployed against China in a conflict over Taiwan but General Sklenka told the National Press Club that the AUKUS pact did not obligate Australia to fight alongside the US in any future conflict.

“When they’re on our submarines, we don’t kidnap them,” he said. “There’s no expectation of anybody participating in any conflict with us because those decisions are national sovereign decisions. The US can’t, and we don’t, dictate that.”

China launched two days of military drills near Taiwan on Thursday, describing the move as “strong punishment” for the swearing-in of the territory’s new President, Lai Ching-te.

The PLA’s Eastern Theatre Command said the drills, involving army, navy, air force and rocket force troops, were being conducted in the Taiwan Strait and around the Taiwan-­controlled islands of Kinmen, Matsu, Wuqiu and Dongyin.

An Australian Navy Seahawk helicopter returns to the HMAS Hobart during a recent regional deployment. Picture: Defence

General Sklenka said the drills were expected but “just because we expect that behaviour does not mean we should not condemn it, and we need to condemn it publicly”.

He said the US took seriously Xi Jinping’s direction to his forces to be prepared for an invasion of Taiwan by 2027.

General Sklenka said China’s sustained pressure campaign against Taiwan was evidence of its intent, but the US did not see conflict as inevitable.

Australia has been subject to repeated unsafe intercepts by Chinese forces in recent times.

In an incident earlier this month, a Chinese fighter jet dropped flares in front of an Australian Seahawk helicopter in the Yellow Sea, forcing the aircraft to take evasive action.

The Australian government opted against releasing video of the recent helicopter incident but the US commander said such footage was important to “show the rest of the world what they’re up to”.

General Sklenka said the incident was part of “a pattern of revisionism” by China to claim territory that wasn’t theirs, believing it would create a new status quo.

He said the US had tracked 300 such “risky and coercive” intercepts by Chinese forces in the region since 2021.

“They not only contravene rules and norms governing behaviour by militaries, but they also frankly endanger lives and create conditions for escalation,” he said.

These incidents included China’s hostile use of water cannons against Filipino sailors, injuring six sailors in one recent encounter.