By Collin Koh*
This policy brief from the Asia-Pacific Leadership Network reviews nuclear submarine acquisitions in the Asia-Pacific region since AUKUS was first announced last September. It argues that the expansion of existing nuclear submarine forces (i.e. vertical proliferation) and potential entry of new operating navies preceded AUKUS and were mainly motivated by extant threat perceptions in the neighbourhood. AUKUS may serve as a contributing influence, not necessarily the cause, of this proliferation.
