Paul Keating says Aukus locking Australia into a US war against China, which it would ‘certainly lose’

Published September 18, 2026 · Category: News

Overview

Former prime minister says US would ‘scuttle itself back to San Diego’, leaving Australia to deal with retribution from China

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Aukus critic Paul Keating has said the submarine deal is locking Australia in to any future US conflict with China – “a war America would certainly lose” – and making Australia a target for retribution.

Details

The former prime minister seized on comments reported out of Washington this week from Republican congressman Michael McCaul – a China hawk and co-chair of the Congressional Friends of Australia caucus – who said “Australia is a target” for enemies of the US already. However, McCaul argued that greater integration with the US military would better protect Australia rather than leaving it more vulnerable.

Source

Originally published at www.theguardian.com.

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