At a virtual roundtable held by Sputnik titled “The Role of AUKUS in the Indo-Pacific Security Architecture,” Russian and Chinese experts explored the current movements of AUKUS, its prospects for expansion, geopolitical risks in the Indo-Pacific region, and the potential for China-Russia cooperation.

The roundtable featured Alexey Mukhin, director general, Center for Political Information (Moscow); Alexander Artamonov, military expert with Channel One Russia; Zhou Bo, senior fellow, Center for International Security and Strategy, Tsinghua University; Liu Jun, executive director, Center for Russian Studies, East China Normal University; and Zhang Xin, deputy director, Center for Russian Studies, East China Normal University.

AUKUS is in nature an offensive rather than defensive grouping, reflecting a transition in US commitment from amorphous organizations—such as NATO—to more dynamic ones, said Alexey Mukhin.

Liu Jun noted that AUKUS has grown aggressively over the past year, but he also expressed doubts about the alliance’s future success, referring to the challenges of military modernization for its members.

AUKUS has been included in the NATO 2030 agenda, as NATO turns to confront China and Russia in the Pacific and evolves from a regional bloc to a global one, Alexander Artamonov pointed out.

Zhou Bo stressed that AUKUS is undoubtedly targeted at China, but the alliance also suffers from efficiency issues: “China has already surpassed the US Navy in the number of certain types of naval forces, a gap that will only grow in the coming two decades.”

The US is trying to replicate NATO’s success in the European theater to the Pacific through this alliance, Zhang Xin concluded.