Paul Keating says Aukus locking Australia into a US war against China, which it would ‘certainly lose’
Former prime minister says US would ‘scuttle itself back to San Diego’, leaving Australia to deal with retribution from ChinaFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our new political email, free app or daily news podcastAukus critic Paul…
By · September 18, 2026 · 1 min read
This article was originally published by
The Guardian World
and is republished here under license.
Former prime minister says US would ‘scuttle itself back to San Diego’, leaving Australia to deal with retribution from China
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.
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.
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