Good afternoon.Aukus will be one of the worst defence and foreign policy decisions ever made by an Australian government, and Donald Trump is only allowing it to destroy Chinese nuclear threats to the US mainland, the former foreign affairs minister Gareth Evans says.In evidence to an inquiry into the $368bn defence agreement with the US and UK, Evans, a cabinet minister in the Hawke and Keating governments, warned the transfer and construction of submarines to Australia from the early 2030s is effectively merely an extension of the American military fleet.He said a future US administration would not come to Australia’s aid in the event of an “existential attack” and would only assist in a military conflict if its own assets on Australian soil are threatened.“The notion that extended nuclear deterrence justifies our prostration – that the US really would be prepared to sacrifice San Francisco for Sydney, let alone Miami for Melbourne – is, and always has been, a ludicrous delusion,” Evans told the inquiry.Top news
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