A bit of a ruckus over Aukus

KUALA LUMPUR: The significance of the sudden and simultaneous announcements from Washington, London and most prominently, Canberra, last week had to gradually sink in - no pun intended here as we shall see below - the minds of the general public and keen strategic observers.

At first, it was thought to be mainly a commercially minded switch for a better bargain. Initially, Australia was to purchase a dozen or so French-made submarines at a cost of tens of billions of dollars. These submarines were to have been powered by diesel as most conventional submarines are.